The Final Frontier
by dudelove85
Summary: The Power Chamber and the Turbo powers are gone and at the worst possible time. The supreme monarch of all evil has Earth in his sights and will stop at nothing to make the planet bow before him. To save the world, the former Turbo Rangers must team up with a refugee from the planet KO-35, whether he likes it or not. The final part of the Chronicles of Power series.
1. Turn The Page

_Chapter 1 – Turn The Page_

_April 3 1998 – Remains of the Power Chamber_

Even though the Power Chamber had been gone for over a week, it still hadn't sunk in for the former Turbo Rangers. In a matter of hours, the combined force of Divatox and Maligore had caused the destruction of both Megazords, followed by an unknown force descending from space that had destroyed the Power Chamber. The former rangers had returned everyday, hoping that they would find something of use in the remains. But other than a few spare electronic parts, they had found nothing.

Yesterday their routine had been interrupted by the appearance of a space ship. It had been shot down high above the Earth and crash landed near the Power Chamber's remains. In a bizarre twist of fate, the pilot was another ranger, the red space ranger. The team didn't know what to make of Andros. He was direct and blunt, almost bordering on rude. He was also extremely anti-social, ending their conversation yesterday by walking back into his ship and leaving the team alone in the desert.

The teens didn't know why they had come back today to help the red ranger. Maybe they felt guilty about leaving a fellow ranger alone on a strange planet. Whatever the reasons, the former Turbo Rangers pulled up alongside the wreckage of Andros' ship in Storm Blaster. The red ranger had been busy overnight, fixing most of the damage to the rear of his ship. The front end was still quite badly damaged though so clearly the red ranger wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

As the teens approached the ship, the rear door was open, "Should we knock?" TJ asked everyone.

"Not sure, he didn't appear to want us around yesterday", Cassie replied.

"Maybe he's a little lonely", Ashley added.

Carlos snorted, "Perhaps you should go and keep him company then", the former yellow ranger blushed in response.

"Well we won't get any answers standing out here", TJ said to the others. Walking slowly through the main door, the teen's jaws dropped as they got their first glimpse at Andros' ship. The corridors were plain grey, interrupted occasionally by a pair of sliding doors. There was no sign of Andros so they moved further into the ship. They paused briefly outside the engine room to marvel at the sheer size of the crafts engines. Periodically the teens felt like they were being watched as they could hear a mechanical buzzing echoing through the corridors.

After getting lost in the identical corridors a few times, they eventually arrived on what they assumed to be the bridge of the ship. There were two standalone consoles in the middle of the room, all covered with various controls that meant nothing to the teens. Around the room were more control panels and viewing screens and directly in front of the teens was a central window, giving them a view outside the ship. As they looked around, Ashley noticed Andros' uniform jacket hanging on the back of what she assumed was the captain's chair, "He's around somewhere", she called out to the others as she gently touched the item of clothing.

The others though weren't that interested, they were too busy admiring the technology on display, "Look at this", Charlotte said to Carlos as the pair looked over the main flight controls, "Justin would freak if he could see this".

"I wonder where this all came from", Carlos replied.

"The main space harbour on KO-35", a voice stated. They turned around and saw Andros walking onto the bridge, "my planet has some of the best ship builders in the galaxy". He brushed past Ashley with barely a glance and retrieved his jacket, "I wasn't expecting visitors today", he added.

"Look man we're sorry for breaking onto your ship", TJ began, "we just want some answers".

"Yeah someone trashed our base of operations and took our powers", Cassie added, "and I think you know something about them".

Andros didn't respond and walked over to one of the consoles on the wall of the bridge. After pushing a few buttons an image began to play. It was the leather suited female and the black and green creature that had attacked, "Her name's Astronema and the monster beside her is Ecliptor. Astronema is Dark Specter's nominated successor in the United Alliance of Evil".

"Who are they?" Charlotte asked.

Andros glared at the former blue ranger, as if to say he was coming to that part, "The United Alliance of Evil is made up of a number of groups, each with their own agenda. Some of them have found their way to Earth, like Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. Others like Astronema have focused their efforts on other planets on the edge of the galaxy". Andros paused for a moment as his jaw clenched, like he was trying to suppress a painful memory. He took a deep breath and continued with his slideshow, bring up an image of a black rock monster that looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey that looks like Maligore", Ashley said to the other former rangers.

"This is Dark Specter, possibly the most powerful force of evil in the galaxy", Andros continued. The next image of Dark Specter showed him towering over a planet. The teens gasped at the sheer size of the monster, "Other than the ability to grow to the size of a planet, he is unbelievably strong. Rumour has it that he once destroyed an entire planet with a single blow".

"I can believe that", Carlos stated, "we fought someone similar to him and only just came out victorious".

Andros arched an eyebrow in surprise that this group had defeated Dark Specter's younger brother. No one knew where the Lord of all evil had imprisoned Maligore, let alone tackled him directly in combat. "Moving on to Ecliptor", he began, "he is Dark Specter's chief enforcer across the galaxy and the reason that he doesn't need to get personally involved in combat. Ecliptor is a master swordsman and incredibly strong, he's crushed many an uprising all by himself".

The red ranger waited for another smart comment from the others but none was forthcoming. Deciding to continue before any of them had a chance, he brought up an image of the woman, "Finally we have Astronema. Lethal in hand to hand combat and in the use of magic", the image moved and showed her blasting an unsuspecting combatant with purple lightning from her staff. "I managed to infiltrate a UAE meeting recently and she was named as Dark Specter's successor and dubbed the Princess of Evil".

"She's kind of cute", TJ muttered to Carlos, drawing a snort of laughter from the former green ranger.

Andros though wasn't in a joking mood, "This isn't a laughing matter and nor is a game", he snapped.

"Calm down Andros", Ashley soothed.

The red ranger took a few deep breathes before continuing, "I'm sorry but she's done more to harm peace in the galaxy in the last few years than Dark Specter managed in centuries. She's conquered hundreds of planets and been responsible for the deaths of millions of people", he paused before continuing, "included many on my home planet". Almost instinctively Ashley was by his side but Andros flinched at her touch like he had been electrocuted.

"So what would you like us to do?" Carlos asked.

"Nothing", Andros replied, much to the surprise of the former rangers, "this is my fight and I fight alone". He shut down the on screen images and began to fiddle idly with some controls.

"Look I know we're not rangers anymore", Cassie began, "but we can still be useful".

"Yeah this is a big ship and it looks like it needs a lot of repairs", TJ added, "can't we at least help you with that".

"I told you I was fine", Andros snapped, "now if you'll excuse me, I need to run a systems diagnostics check". The former rangers were reluctant to leave but after a few moments, TJ led them off the bridge. Once Andros was sure they were gone, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration and lent back in his chair.

"They could have been a great help Andros", the ships computer called out.

Andros sighed, "I know DECA but its best if I do this by myself. I've already lost one team, I don't want to lose another". The computer didn't respond and left Andros to his systems check.

On another part of the ship, the former rangers were trying to find a way out, "This damn place is a maze", Carlos grumbled, "and what's that guys problem, all we did was offer to help him".

"I dunno but he knows more than he's letting on", TJ replied.

"At the risk of sounding like a Star Wars cliché, I sense much anger in him", Charlotte added.

The teens finally found the cargo bay doors and stepped back out into the desert. They took another look around the ship they now knew was called the Astro Megaship, "We're not just going to leave him though are we?" Ashley asked.

"By the sounds of it he doesn't want us around", Cassie replied.

TJ thought about this for a few moments, "He's going to need supplies at some point which means he's going to need to head into the nearest town".

"Which just to happens to be Angel Grove", Carlos added, picking up on his friend's thought.

"Exactly, so for now we head home and continue to find a way to restore our powers", TJ said to his former team, "in a few days time, if we haven't seen Andros around then we'll return back here". The others nodded in agreement before returning back to Storm Blaster. The blue jeep's engine fired into life and sped off across the desert, kicking up a sand cloud behind them. None of them looked back at the Megaship, if they had though, they would've seen a grey and red suited figure standing in the doorway. He looked at the car in disappointment before he headed back inside.

_Dark Fortress_

High above the planet, the Earth had acquired a new orbiting satellite. It was a circular disk with communication towers and docking ports sticking out into space. The craft was grey in colour unless its cloaking system was engaged. It would then disappear into space, briefly leaving behind a green line pattern in the darkness.

Inside the Dark Fortress, Astronema sat on her throne and looked down at the planet. After the red space ranger had crashed her initiation ceremony, she had tracked him to this corner of the galaxy. Her fighters had damaged his ship and caused it to crash onto the surface below. The warlord wondered what the chances were of the ranger crashing on a planet that she had attacked just a few days before. He must've gone to check on Zordon to see if he had really been captured, how foolish of him she thought.

Dark Specter had ordered the ranger's execution at the earliest available opportunity and she knew that she could just descend to the surface below and kill him at any time. He didn't have his ship, or any backup, it would be easy. Perhaps a little too easy. Since a young age Ecliptor had instilled a sense of honour in her. A number of Dark Specter's other generals found this slightly strange, as a rule evil didn't usually go hand in hand with honour. Ecliptor's argument was that defeating a fully armed and prepared enemy would crush their spirit even more when they were inevitably defeated. Plus destroying a weakened enemy, where was the fun in that?

For now she decided to gather as much information on this planet as possible. Clearly Zordon valued it enough to base himself here for several millennia. He had also gone to great lengths to hide its presence from the wider multiverse. Astronema wondered if Zordon knew that by leaving the planet, he revealed its presence to the dimensional pirate Divatox.

Ah Divatox, Astronema sighed. Dark Specter had been surprised when she contacted him directly and asked permission to marry his younger brother Maligore. In return she revealed the location of Zordon's Command Center and said that if she didn't conquer the Earth on the day of her marriage to Maligore to wipe the building off the face of the Earth. Dark Specter didn't think these rangers could defeat his brother so he was appalled when they returned largely unscathed. The attack had gone exactly as planned and the building was destroyed. She even got a souvenir, the helmet of the red Turbo ranger, to prove her success to Dark Specter.

"Is something troubling you Princess?" Ecliptor asked as he carefully approached her throne.

"Just thinking Ecliptor", she replied, "why would the red ranger remain on this planet? He has no allies on this planet. In the past when we've fought, he normally leaves the surface within a matter of hours".

"Perhaps his ship is extensively damaged", Ecliptor offered as a suggestion.

"Come on Ecliptor, you know as well as I do how strong they build ships on KO-35", she began. "I'm still picking up his life signs so unfortunately he isn't dead", She stood up and walked a little closer to the viewing screen, "Perhaps we were too hasty to declare those Turbo Rangers dead".

"We haven't picked up their morphing signatures though", Ecliptor replied, "I'll have the Quantrons keep an eye on the situation but for now I suggest you get some rest".

"Yes it has been a long day hasn't it", Astronema responded with a stretch, "call me if anything changes". Leaving Ecliptor behind she covered the short distance to her chambers in a matter of seconds. Once the door was secure, Astronema looked in her mirror and allowed her hair to return to its natural state, shoulder length blonde. No one had seen her with her natural look in over a decade.

She inspected her eyes and they were more bloodshot than usual. When Dark Specter had named her his successor, he had infused her with some of his own power. Astronema did feel more powerful but strange at the same time. She was getting tired quicker and also having some weird dreams. Shaking this off as a side effect of Dark Specter's power, she sat on the edge of her bed and unzipped her boots before removing her leather gloves. As she drifted off to sleep, her final thoughts were about the red ranger and now satisfying it would be to end his life, once and for all.

_**A/N – **__Welcome to The Final Frontier, the closing instalment of the Chronicles of Power series. There's a lot of loose ends to tie up in the next 35 chapters or so. Hope you all enjoy. _


	2. Come Out Swinging

_Chapter 2 – Come Out Swinging_

_April 9 1998 – Cranston Residence_

A few days after their last encounter with Andros, the former Turbo Rangers gathered in the garage at the back of Billy's place. The former blue ranger had been working tirelessly to try and fix the Turbo Morphers but he wasn't having much success. Even though he had 'retired' from ranger business, he had offered to take a look over the morphers. As the designer of the technology he was the best person to get it working again.

Occasionally the moprhers would spark, raising the hopes of the teens but still they refused to work. In the corner of Billy's garage was the Blue Senturion, or what was left of him. After Divatox's attack his internal circuitry had been damaged, rendering him inoperable. Fortunately his CPU hadn't been affected so his personally could be easily restored.

The teens watched nervously from their perch on one of the workbenches. In the middle of the room, Billy took a soldering iron to one of the Turbo Morphers before sealing the back shut. He placed it on a long metal tube before saying, "Alright fingers crossed everyone". He began tapping something into his laptop to activate the localised morphing grid around the devices. For a few seconds everything looked hopeful until the morpher emitted a massive bang. Smoke poured from the device along with a large quantity of sparks. Billy quickly shut down the morphing sequence to prevent further damage.

TJ waived some smoke away from his face, "Well it's closer than we've gotten before", he choked.

Billy pulled off his safety goggles and tossed them onto the workbench, "It is but we're still a long way from getting them working again. The morphers aren't connecting with the universal morphing grid due to the damage caused at the Power Chamber. Until I get the auxiliary primers and primary stabilisers online then they probably won't work at all".

The rangers glazed over at Billy's jargon filled explanation, "I'm going to pretend I understand what that meant", Ashley replied.

"Put simply there's still several months of work needed to get them back online", Billy stated.

"Several months", Carlos exclaimed, "but Astronema is probably up in orbit ready to attack now".

"I realise that Carlos but it took me several months to build the things the first time", Billy pulled the Turbo Morpher off the holding tube. "Effectively I'm starting again from scratch".

Charlotte and the other rangers sighed, "I know you're doing your best Billy", the former blue ranger began, "it's just frustrating sitting around doing nothing".

"That's reminds me, why aren't you at school? I thought Angel Grove High reopened today", Billy asked.

"Principle Kaplin decided that the seniors didn't need to return", Cassie replied, "all we need to do is come back for finals and then graduation. Are you trying to get rid of us?" she smiled.

"Not at all", Billy began, "but it would be quicker if you left me to work. It's distracting having you watching me all the time. Perhaps you can try and track down this Andros guy again".

"Alright, we'll catch you later Billy", TJ answered for everyone. They bid him farewell before leaving Billy alone in his garage.

Standing up Billy picked at a few loose wires that were poking out of the Blue Senturion, "Perhaps I'll try and get you working", he said to himself, "I'm more likely to have some success with that". He picked up a screwdriver and began to fiddle with the internal wiring.

_Angel Grove Youth Center_

The teens slowly made their way towards the Youth Center, they weren't really sure why as the place wasn't even open. It had taken the brunt of Divatox's fury and it was nothing but a burned out shell. Fortunately no one was injured in the attack but the building itself had been condemned by the city. They turned the corner just in time to see a wrecking ball smash its way through the side of the building. A few more blows later and the popular hangout for teenagers had been reduced to a pile of rubble. "I think I'm sadder to see the end of the Youth Center than I am the Power Chamber", Carlos commented.

"I know what you mean", Ashley added, "we weren't so attached to the Chamber as the previous rangers were. But this place has been around for as long as I can remember". The teens then saw a familiar black haired woman sitting on a wall opposite the Youth Center. Shuffling over to her, the woman smiled at the teens.

"Hey guys", Aimi began, "I was just taking one last look at the place".

"I suppose it's not every day you see your place of employment levelled by a wrecking ball", TJ commented.

"We were just saying how we're going to miss this place", Cassie began, "although I won't miss my clothes smelling like a banana smoothie".

Aimi sighed, "It feels very final", a bulldozer began to clear away some of the rubble, "technically I've lost two jobs, this one and the one at the agency".

"What are you going to do now?" Charlotte asked.

"I dunno", Aimi replied, "the government is still going to send pay cheques my way for a while. They may offer me a place on the new Terra Venture project, depends if they've liked my performance over the last few years".

"Well if you need it we'll vouch for you", Carlos stated.

"Yeah we've got your back", Ashley added and the others nodded in agreement.

"Thanks guys", Aimi sniffed and wiped her eyes, "sorry it's the brick dust", she added but the teens didn't look convinced. After a few moments she finished clearing her eyes, "Any luck getting your powers back?"

The former rangers shook their head, "Billy's working on it but he's only got basic tools to work with", TJ began, "I think we're just going to have to accept that the Turbo powers are gone".

"Think positive guys", Aimi replied, "I'm sure something will turn up soon". Just then the teens saw someone walk around the corner with a large box in his arms. They almost didn't recognise him in a pair of baggy blue jeans and red t-shirt but the brown and blonde hair was a dead giveaway. Andros' eyes widened when he saw the teens and he immediately turned around and starting walking the other way.

"Hey Andros wait up", Cassie called out. She gave Aimi a quick hug, "catch you later Aunt Aimi". The teens ran to catch up with the red space ranger who was moving quickly across the park. He tried to move through the trees but the teens split up and succeeded in boxing him in. Seeing that he had nowhere to go, he sighed and put his box down on the floor.

"Are you avoiding us now?" Carlos stated with annoyance.

"It's not that", Andros began, he rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards the ground, "I'm just a bit embarrassed, our last meeting didn't end well". He quickly looked over each of the rangers before continuing, "I've been in alone in space for the last couple of years, I'm not used to having people around".

"I get that", TJ replied, "but we need to help each other out. You can't fix your ship by yourself and we need your help to protect the Earth", the other rangers nodded in agreement. Andros bit his lip as he thought about his response. He didn't get to deliver it though as several Quantron appeared in the park and surrounded the group.

"Man not these guys again", Carlos grumbled.

"Get out of here", Andros cried, "you don't know what you're dealing with".

"Oh trust me, we do", Cassie replied as she prepared to fight.

"Yeah cause that worked out well last time", he shot back. He instantly regretted bringing up the loss of their powers, "I'm sorry, I just don't want you to get hurt".

"We can take care of ourselves", Ashley stated before kicking a Quantron in the gut. She followed that up by jamming a stick into its chest, shorting out the robots circuits. The other former rangers also jumped into battle against the Quantrons, using whatever they could find in the woods as a weapon.

Andros admired their bravery and resourcefulness as he decapitated a Quantron with a roundhouse kick. He leap off the trunk of a nearby tree and flipped over a pair of footsoldiers. Using the momentary confusion he grabbed a branch and smashed the robots in the chest, disabling them instantly. He turned around and saw that the powerless teens were beginning to struggle against the Quantrons. Flipping the top of his morpher open he called out, "Let's Rocket", in a flash of red light he morphed and summoned his Spiral Saber.

Backed into a corner, the former rangers were relieved when the red ranger came to their assistance. He moved quickly, slicing through Quantrons with his unusual looking weapon as he went, "Isn't he amazing", Ashley sighed.

"We get it Ash you like him", TJ joked. Andros was now to their left, mostly with his back to the teens. Suddenly they saw three Quantrons sneaking up on the red ranger with their blades ready to strike. Instinctively Ashley picked up a lump of wood and threw it at the nearest Quantron. The projectile slammed into its chest compartment and the robot collapsed to the ground. Charlotte and Cassie leapt into the air and drop kicked the remaining two robots, knocking them to the ground. TJ and Carlos then jammed a couple of branches into the creatures, permanently disabling then.

Andros glanced around and realised how close he had been to getting cut down. Stabbing the last Quantron in the stomach, he turned around to face the rangers, "Thank you, I owe you one", he said before powering down.

"Maybe we're not as helpless as you think", Cassie replied.

Andros sighed, "I want to apologise for my behaviour a few days ago and you're right I do need help. Are you free to come with me to the Megaship?" The others nodded and Andros brought his morpher up to his mouth, "DECA, six to teleport". In a flash of coloured light the group disappeared from the park.

_Astro Megaship_

Andros led the group through the corridors of the Megaship and down to the bottom level. Eventually he stopped outside a large door that looked like a bank vault. "Before we go any further I want to give you a brief history of the rangers from KO-35. The ranger powers were given to my people by Zordon nearly two hundred years ago via his emissary, Alpha 3".

"Hey we have an Alpha helping us, he's called Alpha 6 though", Ashley stated.

"Probably part of the same lineage", Andros replied, "I don't mean to be rude Ashley but could I finish the story uninterrupted. You can all ask questions at the end", Ashley initially looked put out but nodded in agreement. "The ranger position is passed down between family members, unless he remains childless. If that happens then it's up to the ruling council to decide where the powers should go". He raised his morpher to show the rangers, "My father was the previous red ranger and before that my grandfather was the red ranger. Unlike rangers on Earth, we had no enemies so the we acted like an elite police force", he paused and looked like he was struggling to continue.

"That was until Astronema arrived I'm guessing", Charlotte said, "sorry I know you said not to interrupt".

Andros shook his hands, "It's fine and yes you're right. When Astronema attacked KO-35 two years ago I was the only active ranger. The remaining morphers weren't active as their owners were either too old or too young. By the time we realised what was happening it was too late".

The others didn't know what to say in response. They had lost a few buildings but Andros had lost nearly his entire planet. Tentatively Cassie raised her hand, "What happened to the other potential rangers?"

Andros sighed and looked to be holding back tears, briefly the rangers saw his emotionless mask slipping. After a few moments he sniffed and stood up as straight as he could, "Gone", he replied simply, "and that's all you need to know", he added, his stoic mask firmly back in place. Sensing the discussion around this point was over, the teens nodded solemnly.

The red ranger entered the security code on the vault, "Power Vault pressurising", a voice said.

"Who was that?" TJ asked.

"That's DECA", Andros replied, "she's the ship onboard AI. She's responsible for maintaining life support, engines and navigation".

"And I also keep Andros sane", DECA added.

Andros shook his head, "DECA also thinks she's a comedian". The computer announced that it was safe to open the vault door. Andros pulled on the heavy steel door with all his strength and slowly it began to open. Inside the vault was a table with five colours poles, red, blue, black, yellow and pink. The red pole was bare but the others had a morpher identical to Andros' placed on it.

"Hang on a sec", Cassie began, "I thought you said that you didn't have female rangers on KO-35", Andros nodded in confirmation, "so all your pink rangers were guys?"

"That's right", Andros replied, "the colour pink isn't associated with femininity like it is here on Earth". He moved inside the vault and beckoned the other rangers inside, "I've spoken with DECA and she believes that the Astro Morphers should work for non Karovians".

"Are you asking us what I think you're asking", Charlotte stated.

Andros nodded, "If you're willing, how would like to complete the line up for the Space Rangers?"

The teens were surprised with the offer. In all the time they had known Andros, he seemed like the lone wolf type, someone who wouldn't ask a group of total strangers to work with him on a team. They had spent so long trying to get their own powers fixed that it was almost a miracle that someone else had a full set of working morphers ready to use. But as these thoughts ran through their heads, another one popped in, "Quick question", Carlos began, "there's only four spare morphers", he pointed to his friends, "but there's five of us".

Andros nodded, "I know, I'm afraid one of you will have to step aside from active ranger duty". The teens looked amongst themselves, which one would they pick to give up their powers, possibly forever.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_**A/N – **__Probably the least tense cliff hanger ever but there we are. Thank you for the positive responses so far. A few people have asked if I'm going to include the TMNT crossover. The short answer to that is no. I know some people loved that episode but personally I wasn't a massive fan so I don't think I could do it justice. I'm also not a huge fan of TMNT (other than the classic 80's series) so I don't think I could bring anything extra to a crossover chapter and it would basically turn into a rehash of the episode. I apologise if anyone is disappointed._


	3. Learn To Fly

_Chapter 3 – Learn To Fly_

_**Previously - **__Andros nodded, "If you're willing, how would like to complete the line up for the Space Rangers?"_

_The teens were surprised with the offer. In all the time they had known Andros, he seemed like the lone wolf type, someone who wouldn't ask a group of total strangers to work with him on a team. They had spent so long trying to get their own powers fixed that it was almost a miracle that someone else had a full set of working morphers ready to use. But as these thoughts ran through their heads, another one popped in, "Quick question", Carlos began, "there's only four spare morphers", he pointed to his friends, "but there's five of us"._

_Andros nodded, "I know, I'm afraid one of you will have to step aside from active ranger duty". The teens looked amongst themselves, which one would they pick to give up their powers, possibly forever. _

"This is a big decision", Ashley began, "can you give us a few minutes?"

"Actually I've got something to say", Charlotte replied, "I'll step aside". Immediately the vault was filled with protests from her friends, she held her hands up to silence them, "I enjoyed my time as the blue Turbo Ranger but I've got Justin to consider. With my Dad in prison for the foreseeable future someone needs to look after him, otherwise he'll be put into care".

"Are you sure about this?" Andros asked, "he could always come with us when we leave Earth".

Charlotte shook her head, "Thanks for the offer Andros but I don't trust Justin not to play around with our TV, let alone a spaceship". She then looked at her other friends and opened her arms, "How about one last Turbo Ranger hug", the teens nodded and embraced each other warmly. Charlotte's eyes began to water but this was the right decision for herself, her brother and for the team. Carlos' hug lingered longer than the others and he gave his girlfriend a reassuring kiss.

"Alright so now we need to decide who gets which morpher", TJ stated.

"Well it would make sense if I took the pink one and Ash took the yellow morpher", Cassie replied. She removed her morpher off the pole and attached it to her wrist, Ashley did the same with the yellow one.

"Alright I guess that leaves us", Carlos said to TJ, "we need to take our time deciding which colour suits us the best". After a few moments silence the two boys raised their right fists in front of each other. They bobbed them a few times before Carlos opened his fist but TJ kept his closed. Carlos cheered and grabbed the black morpher off its pole, leaving TJ with the blue morpher.

"Erm did that really happen?" Charlotte asked.

"If by that you mean did they just play rock, paper, scissors for a morpher, then yes they did", Cassie sighed.

Andros was a little lost, "What's rock, paper, scissors?"

"It's a game", Ashley replied, "usually played by children", she added in exasperation.

The red ranger shook his head, there were some Earth customs he would never understand. Deciding to move on, he address the newest Space Rangers, "The morphers should be ready to use, however, I will reiterate that they were designed for Karovian physiology. For everyone's piece of mind I would like someone to monitor you the first time you morph".

"Not a problem with us", TJ replied for everyone as he finished adjusting his new Astro morpher.

"Charlotte, would you mind watching the medical reports", Andros said to the former blue ranger, "I'll show you how of course".

Charlotte smiled in response, "I would be honoured". Andros smiled and led the teens back through the Megaship, pointing out a few important features along the way. Eventually they arrived back on the bridge where Andros gave Charlotte a crash course in using some of the Megaship's controls.

In another corner of the bridge the others stood and inspected their new morphers. They had a small lid on top that opened up to reveal a keypad. Andros explained that previous Space Rangers had to enter specific codes to activate different functions, like summoning their special weapons. Recently the scientists on KO-35 had made the devices largely voice controlled, the only code they still needed to enter on the keypad was the one needed to morph.

"I still can't believe you two played rock paper scissors for the black morpher", Ashley chastised the two male rangers.

"Lighten up Ash, it was just a bit of fun", Carlos smiled.

"We're meant to be teaching Andros about Earth and it's customs", Cassie replied, "what sort example did that set?"

TJ shrugged, "At least he now knows how to play rock paper scissors".

Ashley groaned loudly, "Didn't you listen to his ranger history lesson? The morphers were only given to people specially chosen by their government. Would they be happy to learn that you trivialised that by playing a game?" The two boys hung their heads in shame but before they could respond, an alarm rang out through the bridge.

"That's the warning alarm", Andros began, "Astronema's send an attack force to Earth. DECA bring the disturbance up on screen", he said to the ship's AI. The rangers saw a battalion of Quantrons causing mayhem in downtown Angel Grove. "Looks like the training session will have to wait", Andros added, "quickly follow me".

The teens ran off the bridge and into the galley next door. In addition to the synthatron were five large tubes, each one colour coordinated for the rangers, "These are the jump tubes", Andros began, "jumping down these will morph you instantly and also summon your Galaxy Gliders".

"Question", TJ replied, "what's a Galaxy Glider?"

"They're your personal method of transportation", Andros said, "real easy to use, all the relevant information will become available when you morph". He then turned to Charlotte, "Don't forget to watch their energy levels".

Charlotte nodded in response, "Good luck everyone".

"Alright everyone let's rocket", Andros leaped into his jump tube, closely followed by the other rangers. As Charlotte waived them off, she could help but noticed there was an empty space in the wall, possible where another tube should be. She shrugged it off and returned to the bridge to monitor her friend's life signs.

_Angel Grove_

As the residents of Angel Grove took shelter from the advancing Quantrons, those that looked up to the sky would have seen five colourful blurs flashing overhead. Andros had been right that the morphers would teach them how to control the Galaxy Gliders, however, it didn't allow them to overcome the sensations they were experiencing. Their Turbo Zords had travelled extremely fast but they had a solid roof to protect them. Effectively they were now surfing in the sky and it was a long way down to the ground.

The red ranger led the way, extremely confident and in control of his Gliders. The others were some distance behind but slowly mastering the technique. There had been a few wobbles but nothing major. "The Quantrons are directly below", Andros called out, "get ready to jump".

"I'm sorry did he just say jump", Cassie asked the others. She got her answer when Andros somersaulted off his Gliders and landed on the ground below.

"Oh well, when in Rome", TJ laughed as he too jumped off, followed closely by the others. They fell in line with their new leader and caught a glimpse of their new uniforms in a shop window. Other than the colour of their suits they were identical to Andros'. Ashley and Cassie's uniform had a small skirt like their previous Turbo suits.

Immediately the Quantron's focused on them and charged towards the rangers, "Don't forget about your weapons", Andros said to the others. He summoned his Spiral Saber and immediately drilled a hole in the chest of a Quantron. He then used the weapon as a sword and sliced through two more Quantrons, leaving them inactive.

"Alright let's see what I can do", Carlos began, "Lunar Lance", he called and a long black rod appeared in his hand. One end of the lance had a sharp silver blade in the shape of a crescent moon. It was a change from his cannon but Carlos soon found a groove with the lance. He tripped up a pair of Quantron before plunging the sharp end of the lance into their chests. He spun the lance over his head before turning in a wide circle, disabling several Quantron in the process.

"Astro Axe", TJ called and a blue hatchet appeared in his hand. It was extremely light and much easier to wield than a sword he thought. He quickly decapitated a Quantron before kicking the severed head like a soccer ball into another robot. He ducked under a robot's blade before slicing its arm off in one smooth motion.

"My turn", Ashley said, "Star Slinger", he called to summon her special weapon, a mechanical slingshot. She marvelled the craftsmanship, especially the string which was made from a very lightweight material. Pulling back on the sling she fired off several rounds of yellow energy, instantly destroying some Quantrons. She backflipped away from another robot before firing her weapon at point blank range into its abdomen. The robot had just enough time to look at the new hole in its stomach before it collapsed to the ground.

"Satellite Stunner", Cassie called and her weapon materialised. Initially she was a little disappointed as it looked like a small hand gun with a tiny satellite dish on the end. Deciding to go with it she fired the weapon at the nearest Quantron. Pink energy waves lifted the robot off its feet and across the street. It slammed into the building opposite, shattering the Quantron into several pieces. Cassie looked at her weapon in awe, "Better watch where I'm pointing this thing", she muttered to herself.

Andros looked over his new team and saw they were all managing well with their new powers. To be on the safe side he decided to make a call, "Andros to Megaship".

"Hearing you loud and clear Andros", Charlotte replied.

"How's everything looking?" he asked.

"From what I can tell everything looks fine", she began, "to be on the safe side I'd like to run the data past DECA when the battle's over".

Andros saw that the last of the Quantron had been defeated, "Looks like that'll soon", he began, "we'll meet at the Power Vault once you've spoken with DECA".

The others strolled over towards Andros, talking amongst themselves as they went, "Man that was awesome", Carlos exclaimed.

TJ bent down to pick up a discarded hand from a Quantron, "Gimme five bro", he joked.

"TJ!" Cassie slapped his arm, "remind me again what I see in you?"

Underneath his helmet Andros laughed at the interaction between the four, perhaps having them around wouldn't be so bad after all. "Good job everyone", he began, "I've spoken with Charlotte and everything looks ok but she's going to check with DECA first". He looked around at the remains of the Quantron, "who clears this up?"

The others shrugged, "Not sure", Ashley began, "never really asked if I'm honest".

"Probably the city workers", TJ added, "that would explain why taxes are so high in Angel Grove".

The rangers laughed at the blue rangers joke before mounting their Galaxy Gliders. As they took off, they failed to notice Ecliptor lurking in the shadow of a nearby building, "So the red ranger has completed his team", he muttered to himself, "I'd better inform the Princess of this development straight away", With that he teleported away in a flash of green and black light.

_Astro Megaship_

Back on the ship the rangers gathered inside the Power Vault awaiting the final word from DECA. After several agonising minutes Charlotte walking in with a piece of paper in her hands, "Good news, DECA doesn't detect any anomalies so you should all be good to go".

"Assuming that's alright with the Captain", TJ added as he fiddled with his Astro Morpher.

Andros was silent for a few moments before responding, "I still need to clear this with the Karovian High Council", he began, "but for now the morphers are yours", the rangers cheered in celebration.

"Thank you so much for this Andros", Ashley added as she hugged the red ranger. Andros felt a little awkward and didn't return the hug. Instead he turned a bright shade of red, much to the amusement of the others.

"I think this calls of a celebration", Cassie called out, "how about a round at the...", her voice trailed off.

"Youth Center?" TJ completed for her, she nodded in response, "what are we going to do now we can't hang out there".

"You can use my place", Charlotte suggested, "it's the closest to our current location".

"Alright let's go", Carlos replied as he led the others out, Andros though hadn't moved, "aren't you coming?" he asked the red ranger.

"I'll meet you by the cargo bay doors", he replied, "I just need to close up in here first". The others nodded and left him alone inside the Power Vault. He sighed as he began to check on the internal climate controls. He wasn't one for socialising, even before the invasion of KO-35. But his new team were trying their best to make him feel welcome so he really should make an effort.

After checking all the systems, he pulled a keycard out of his pocket and inserted it into a slot in the wall. There was a hissing noise and a small box was ejected from the wall. Andros checked the contents of the box to make sure it had survived the reactivation process as well as the crash. Once he was happy he pushed the box back into the wall.

He left the vault and locked the heavy steel door behind him, "Damn it", he swore. In his haste to catch up with the others, he had left the keycard inside the vault. He didn't need the card for anything else and as he was the only person who knew the combination, it was safe inside the vault. "DECA can you give me some Earth clothes please", he asked the computer.

"They will be ready in your quarters", the computer replied. Andros muttered his thanks before turning off the lights in the vault entrance and shutting the outer door.


	4. Aces High

_Chapter 4 – Aces High_

_April 15 1998 – Astro Megaship_

Andros woke with a start and bolted upright. It took him a few moments to realise he was in his quarters aboard the Megaship. Rubbing his eyes he quickly glanced at the clock, noting that it was 10:37AM. He still wasn't used to the slightly shorter days on Earth compared to the 28 hour days on KO-35. When he left his home he had set the internal clock on the Megaship to Karovian Standard Time. He had been meaning to adjust DECA to fit in with the shorter Earth day but there were more important things fix on the Megaship.

Despite his best efforts, the ships engines still weren't operational. Without those he had no hope of taking the battle directly to Astronema, or finding Zordon. DECA's internal and external scanners were working fully but there was no sign of Zordon. Astronema obviously knew that the Megaship was grounded and was deliberately keeping him out of scanner range.

He got dressed into his uniform and began to make his way towards the bridge. He was tying his hair back when he heard some noises coming from the bridge. Moving as silently as possible, he located a weapons store in the corridor and pulled out an Astro Blaster. As he crept along the corridor the sounds became clearer, it sounded like some kind of music. It was like nothing they had on KO-35, from his distance it sounded like tuneless distorted noise and thrashing drums.

He reached the entrance of the bridge and was about to pounce when he heard voices, "Can you turn this down, it'll wake Andros up", he didn't know the voice but it sounded slightly robotic.

"You've got no taste Alpha", a female voice answered. The red ranger did recognise this one, he tucked his blaster into the back of his trousers and walked onto the bridge.

"I have to agree with Alpha Charlotte", Andros began, "this just sounds like noise to me".

Startled the pair turned around in surprise, "Andros", the former blue ranger began, "sorry I hope we didn't disturb you", she ejected a CD from a nearby panel, stopping the music instantly.

"You didn't, however, I wasn't expecting guests today", he replied.

"Sorry I should've called ahead but I have a good reason", she grabbed hold of Alpha and pulled him towards the red ranger, "this is Alpha 6, he used to look after the systems at the Power Chamber".

"Pleased to meet you Andros", Alpha said cheerily.

"I was telling Alpha about the problems with the Megaship's engines and he thinks he can help", Charlotte continued.

"I'm programmed to maintain thousands of computer systems, including Karovian starships", Alpha added. He shuffled over to the flight controls and pushed a few buttons causing the engines to slowly splutter into life. "I've managed to get the impulse drive back online", Alpha continued, "but the hyper rush drive is proving to be a handful. I'm not sure when I can get that one up and running".

Andros was stunned, he was sure that he would be working for several more days to get the engines working, "The engines needed cleaning out first", he began, "they took on a lot of sand during the crash".

"Good thing we cleared them out then", TJ said as he and the other rangers appeared on the bridge. Their clothes were a covered in grease and sand from working in the engine bay, "We've been here since 8AM this morning", TJ continued, "we were going to wake you but DECA told us not to disturb you".

"Surprised?" Cassie asked.

That wasn't the word Andros wanted to use. His new team mate had given up their morning to fix up his ship without any prompting from him, "_Shukran_", he replied, "it's an expression of great praise and thanks in Karovian. I couldn't find the right words in English to express my gratitude".

"Well you're welcome", Ashley began, "now as a reward you can treat us to the finest microwavable breakfast the galley has to offer".

The teens were about to leave when Alpha spoke up, "Huh, that's a little strange".

"What is it Alpha?" Carlos asked.

"Well I did a quick scan of the Megaship's schematics", the robot began, "did you know this ship can also be used as a Megazord?"

Andros pushed his way over to Alpha, no one on KO-35 had told him that, "Are you sure? Not that I doubt you but the designers on my planet never mentioned that".

Alpha brought up the blue prints on the main screen, "This is the plans for the Astro Megazord. The ships itself makes up most of the zord but the main controls are stored in the Mega Shuttle".

The red ranger shook his head, "I don't have this shuttle", he stated.

Alpha pushed a few more buttons on the computer, "According to this the Mega Shuttle is being held at NASADA Headquarters in Houston, Texas".

"Why would Karovian engineers build the Megaship but not build the shuttle?" TJ asked.

"More to the point, how did NASADA know how to build the shuttle?" Charlotte added, "KO-35 is several light years away and to our knowledge there's never been any communication between the planets".

"I think those questions will have to wait", Andros began as he looked at the monitor, "somehow Astronema found out about the shuttle". He brought an image of several Quantrons attacking the NASADA facility in Houston.

"Looks like now will be a good time to test the engines", Charlotte stated, "life support will be good to sustain space flight. I would suggest not pushing the engines too much though, I'm not sure how much power they can take".

"Since when did you become Chief Engineer?" Carlos asked with a smile.

"Justin's not the only smart one in the family", she replied, "and I might also be repeating what Alpha told me to say", she added with a sheepish smile.

"Alright set course for Houston", Andros began, "we need to get to that shuttle before Astronema". The Megaship rose slowly off the ground, groaning in the process. It slowly turned and rocketed into the sky, bound for Texas.

_NASADA Headquarters – Houston, TX_

The headquarters of NASADA sat in the middle of a desert a few miles north of the city of Houston. The vast complex would have covered several football fields. Several hangars housed secret projects and also numerous research staff. The facility was also well protected with the latest military equipments and the best trained staff NASADA could hire. They were still no match for Astronema's forces though.

Several fighters tore over the desert and dropped their payload of bombs on the complex. Explosions shook the desert and fireball towered high into the sky as another hangar was wiped off the map. On the ground, legions of Quantrons struck down anyone who crossed their path. People were screaming and running for their lives, trying desperately to make it into the underground panic room.

The rangers flew overhead on their Galaxy Gliders and despaired at the devastation below. For Andros this was only too familiar, he had seen it happen on his home planet and several others since. For the others this was still a new experience. Previous villains hadn't sent an invading fleet on each mission to Earth. There were simply too many for the rangers to fight off whilst making sure everyone was safe.

"Look over there", Carlos pointed to a nearby launchpad. A gantry was slowly pulling up to a blue and white shuttle that was primed and ready to launch, "That must be the Mega Shuttle".

"Alright I'll go and secure the area", Andros said, "everyone else can help the civilians as best as you can". The other rangers nodded and sped off towards the bulk of the Quantrons on the ground below.

Andros directed his Galaxy Glider closer to shuttle before jumping off when he reached the ground. This area was probably the best guarded by the NASADA soldiers and security staff so the Quantrons hadn't made their way over yet. It was disturbingly quiet in comparison to the rest of the base Andros thought as he took a look around. The gantry led to the top of the shuttle but the entrance lift was locked and it required a keycard to open it.

The red ranger looked around but there was no other way of entering the shuttle. After a few minutes he found a small security hut but there was no one inside. He entered the room and the door immediately locked behind him. The lights dimmed as a panel slid away from the wall, revealing a logo for a company called INET. Andros didn't know what to expect so he was revealed when a scanning laser ran over his body. The lights turned back on and a keycard ejected itself from the wall. A message appeared on the screen 'Courtesy of the Doctor'. Andros wasn't sure what this meant but he was grateful for the keycard.

The door opened and Andros stepped outside, however, he immediately bumped into a familiar face, "Hello red ranger", Ecliptor snarled.

"Ecliptor, looking as hideous as always I see", Andros replied.

"I want that keycard red ranger", Ecliptor said. He drew his sword and pointed it menacingly at the red ranger.

Andros drew his Spiral Saber and slowly circled Ecliptor, "Why would Astronema want this shuttle? Why not simply destroy it like the rest of this base?"

Ecliptor laughed, "Imagine what Astronema could do with the Astro Megazord at her disposal". Underneath his helmet Andros' jaw dropped. He didn't even know about the Megazord until this morning, "Surprised that we know? You can thank Divatox's hacker friend for that". Andros cursed under his breath, he had been told about Charlotte's Dad and his role as a mole in the agency.

Astronema's enforcer didn't give Andros a chance to response and immediately went on the attack. His sword slashed across the red rangers chest before he had a chance to react. Andros was knocked back but he didn't go down. Raising his Spiral Saber he went on the offensive, bringing it down on Ecliptor. The monster blocked this attack and a couple more before responding with an attack of his own. Once again he over powered Andros, this time he knocked the red ranger into the metal gantry.

Andros groaned as he felt a lump forming in his back, "No more games Ecliptor", he pulled out his Astro Blaster and connected it with his saber, "Spiral Saber Booster Mode". He fired the weapon at Ecliptor but to his horror the energy ball was blocked. Ecliptor flicked his sword and returned the blast with interest. Andros was knocked flat on his back by the force of the blow, his saber and the keycard falling from his grasp.

Ecliptor laughed as he towered over the red ranger, "Say goodbye", he said as brought his sword down towards Andros. Suddenly a powerful blast knocked Ecliptor into an electrical outlet, sending sparks flying in all directions. Andros looked over and saw Carlos holding a weapon made up from the other rangers special weapons.

"Say hello to the Quadro Blaster Ecliptor", the black ranger called out.

Ashley hurried to Andros' side, "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah nothing a good lay down won't fix", Andros replied. He grabbed the keycard off the ground, "We need to take the shuttle now before Ecliptor recovers". Everyone agreed and hurried to the main gantry. Ascending in the elevator they climbed into the cockpit and began the launch sequence as quickly as possible. The Mega Shuttle's rockets fired and lifted clear of the launch pad just as Ecliptor grew into a giant. He narrowly missed the Shuttle as it blasted into space to meet up with the Megaship.

"Giant Ecliptor is taking his rage out on the NASADA base", Cassie cried as she looked down below. Most of the base had already been destroyed but there were people still below ground in the panic room.

"Today's a day for test runs so shall we see what the Astro Megaship can do?" Andros asked everyone. "Alpha, Charlotte, prepare for docking sequence", he said on the intercom to the Megaship.

"All systems go here", Alpha replied. The Astro Megaship began to change, forming legs and arms from its main body. It twisted up in space so it stood upright and as it did so, it became clear that the Shuttle would form the head of the Megazord. Carefully docking into place, the Astro Megazord stood proudly in space. It summoned a shield and began diving through the atmosphere. The shield heated up during re-entry as it deflected the heat away from the Megazord.

The Astro Megazord landed feet first and stood opposite Ecliptor. Roaring with rage Ecliptor charged at the Megazord but he was met with a solid punch in the stomach. The monster produced his sword and swung it towards the Megazord. The rangers quickly used the jets in the legs of the Megazord to avoid the attack. Landing behind Ecliptor, the giant robot kicked him hard in the abdomen. The force of the blow knocked Ecliptor into the remains of the Mega Shuttle's launch gantry.

The Megazord summoned its Astro Saber slashed it across Ecliptor's chest a couple of times. The saber then shot thick energy ropes at Ecliptor, holding him safely in position. Ecliptor struggled against his bonds and saw the Astro Megazord charge up its saber for the final attack. Deciding to live to fight another day, Ecliptor focused his energy and began to reduce in size. The Astro Saber missed its target as Ecliptor returned to his normal size. Embarrassed and defeated, he teleported away in a flash of light.

Up in the cockpit the rangers celebrated but they were muted slightly when they saw the devastation below, "There's nothing left", Ashley said softly as she looked over the burned out remains of the NASADA base.

"Unfortunately that's how Astronema, Ecliptor and Dark Specter operate", Andros replied. "They don't believe in subtlety, they will destroy everything in their path until they get what they want".

"At least Houston was saved from a direct attack", TJ added, "hopefully most of the staff got underground in time".

"Only one way to find out", Carlos stated. The rangers disengaged the Megazord, returning the Megaship to its original state. The Mega Shuttle docked securely inside the Megaship to protect it against any future attacks. The ship landed and began to offer any assistance where they could. The rangers from Earth all had one common thought, this was not just an attack on the city of Angel Grove. Astronema had shows that she could and would attack anywhere on Earth. This was now a global war against the forces of evil but fortunately they had a powerful new weapon in the form of the Astro Megazord.

_**A/N - **An Alpha sighting! As you can see he survived the destruction of the Power Chamber. I didn't have the heart to kill him off again. Quick response to a question asked by Hallwings, the Stewart house will become a temporary base/home for the rangers in the next few chapters. Property does get rebuilt quickly in Angel Grove but it would be a miracle for them to get the Surf Spot open in a week. _


	5. Ghost Town

_Chapter 5 – Ghost Town_

_April 19 1998 – Stewart Residence_

Despite the early hour the Stewart household was a hive of activity. Since their father's arrest and imprisonment, Charlotte and Justin had opened their house to their friends as a new base of operations. Even with the Stewart siblings having a room each, there were still two spare bedrooms that could be used as emergency accommodation. Until Andros had passed down the Astro Morphers, they had been working to restore their powers. Now that four of them had morphers again the focus shifted to protecting the rest of Earth from Astronema.

They still called on the experience and knowledge of Billy but they were respecting his decision to step back from active ranger business. Instead they focused on the skills that they could all bring to the table. Both Ashley and Carlos were useful mechanical engineers and Justin could call on the skills he picked up in the Agency's junior agent program. Charlotte worked alongside her brother on anything electronic and also computer programming. That left TJ and Cassie as the 'ideas people' and they had come up with a few useful suggestions. The only problem was the lack of resources needed to bring their ideas to life. Their plans were a little easier now they had the Astro Megazord. Unfortunately there had been a few casualties at NASADA headquarters but most of the staff had gotten away without injury

It had been a late night of brainstorming and none of the teens had gone to bed before 2am. Fortunately it wasn't a school night, whilst the older teens didn't have to attend school anymore, Justin was still a student. Despite this everyone was up before 9am and ready for breakfast. Down in the kitchen, the Stewart were trying to organise breakfast for everyone, "Do you even know how to make scrambled eggs?" Charlotte asked her younger brother.

"At least I didn't set fire to the toaster making Pop Tarts", Justin countered.

"That was the marshmellows fault, not mine", Charlotte argued.

"Guys enough", TJ silenced the pair, "it's too early to listen to you argue". He took the mixing bowl from the younger Stewart and began beating the eggs, "How about you let a professional handle this".

"TJ man you worked on a hot dog stall a few times", Carlos laughed, "that hardly makes you the next Emeril".

"At least my man's domesticated", Cassie smirked, she grabbed an apron off a nearby counter and threw it at the blue ranger. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

The Stewarts sighed and took a seat at the dinner table. Carlos sat next to his girlfriend whilst Ashley sat down next to Justin, "Hey where's Andros", the youngster asked, "how come he wasn't here last night".

"We kinda didn't ask him", Carlos replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck at the same time.

"Why not?" Justin stated, "Shouldn't your red ranger be here with you".

"He's not the most social person", Cassie called out from the corner of the room, "we didn't think he'd enjoy spending all night us".

"That's stupid if you ask me", Justin responded, "he's never going to warm up to everyone if you keep excluding him".

TJ sighed, "The little man's got a point, we're team mates now. Other than the time we fixed up his ship we've barely spent any time with him".

"Other than during emergencies", Ashley added.

"Well bring him back here later", Charlotte said, "we'll have an old school pizza and movie night. He can even stay in..", her voice trailed off but completing her sentence. She was about to say her Dad's room, "we've got a spare room he can sleep in".

"Alright we'll go fetch him after breakfast", Ashley began, "can we use Storm Blaster to collect him?"

"Just don't let TJ drive", Charlotte smiled, "Storm told me that you were a bit rough with the gear changes last time". TJ pouted but didn't respond, instead he continued to mix up the eggs for their breakfast.

_Astro Megaship_

Andros strolled onto the bridge of the Megaship, his uniform jacket held loosely in his hand. Until the other rangers arrived a few weeks ago, he hadn't noticed how quiet and lonely the Megaship was. The ship didn't really need a crew, DECA could look after pretty much everything herself. Currently the ship's AI was scanning the Earth for anything unusual, more for something to do than anything. All of the craft's systems had been fixed, except for the hyper rush drive. Some of the parts needed to fix the drive couldn't be found on Earth so Andros had to synthesize the material using whatever he could find. Unfortunately this was a lengthy process so he didn't have much to do other than sit around and wait.

His stomach told him that it was breakfast time so he moved into the galley and asked the synthatron to make him some Karovian porridge. The food was very dark brown in colour and gave off an odour of sweaty socks but to Andros it tasted like home. He thought about the other rangers and wondered what they were up to at the moment. Even though he had given them the spare Astro Morphers, they didn't feel like a team to him yet. He was the first to admit that he hadn't made much of an effort so far. Not because he didn't like the teens but because he was afraid of getting too close to them. Everyone who he had felt close to had been taken away from him by Astronema, he didn't want that to happen to the rest of his team.

"Andros I'm picking up a Karovian distress beacon on Earth", DECA announced.

"That's impossible", Andros replied, "no other Karovian's have access to interstellar travel". He abandoned his breakfast and returned to the bridge. On the main screen DECA had pulled up a map showing the beacon's current location. It was in a place called Silver Lake in the state of California. Andros still wasn't too familiar with Earth geography but from what the others had told him, he was currently in California.

"DECA how far away is that from our present location?" he asked.

"Approximately 72 miles in a south westerly direction", DECA replied.

Andros snorted with laughter, only a computer would consider that statement an approximation. Still 72 miles wasn't that far away, he could cover that distance on his Galaxy Glider in under 15 minutes. "DECA load the co-ordinates into my morpher, I'm going to check it out".

"Do you want me to alert the other rangers?" DECA asked.

The red ranger though about this for a moment, they were a team now so really he should tell them. But it was only a simple recognisance missions, he had done them loads of time before he met the others, "No need DECA, I won't be gone long", he replied before leaving the bridge and headed in the direction of the jump tubes.

_Silver Lake, CA_

Andros flew over the location DECA had given him but something didn't look right. The town was located in the middle of a desert with nothing around for miles. From his cruising heights he could make out the remains of an old railroad line that passed through the middle of the settlement. He had been observing the town for the last few minutes but he hadn't seen any signs of life, "DECA are you sure this is the place?"

"Affirmative Andros", DECA replied. Tentatively the red ranger descended to take a closer look around. Walking through the main road through the town it became obvious that the place was deserted and it had been for some time. The properties were in a poor state of repair and a few had even collapsed. Dust from the nearby desert covered every exposed surface. "Hello, anyone here", Andros called out but he didn't get a response.

He came across an abandoned gas station, the windows of the attached store had been boarded up but there was a gap large enough to fit his hand through. Spying an old newspaper inside the store, Andros reached inside and pulled it out. "Silverwood Times", he read out loud before looking at the date, "Monday February 5 1940, that can't be right". He looked around the town again and realised the decay all around him was consistent for somewhere that had been abandoned for nearly sixty years. "So where did that signal come from?" he muttered.

"Haven't you figured it out yet red ranger", a voice called out. Andros dropped the paper and spun around only to come face to face with Ecliptor, "you've walked right into my trap". Andros snarled in anger at Ecliptor, he was also frustrated with himself for falling for his trick, "You know as well as I do that everyone from KO-35 is gone, apart from yourself and a few rebels".

"What do you want Ecliptor?" Andros shouted, summoning his Spiral Saber in preparation for battle.

"You and your friends humiliated me last time", Ecliptor began, "what I seek is vengeance for that defeat".

"If you want me Ecliptor, come and get me", Andros pulled his saber back into a defensive position as Ecliptor charged towards him. The monsters sword slammed into Andros' weapon, staggering the red ranger. He rolled out the way of another attack and sliced Ecliptor on the back of the legs. The creature roared in pain but there was no physical damage on his body. The two enemies sized each other up again like a predator ready to strike. Simultaneously they swung their weapons and they clashed with a resounding clang. The force of the blow pushed them away from each other.

"You've been training red ranger", Ecliptor said in a tone that almost sounded like respectful.

"We all need a hobby Ecliptor", Andros spat back. He charged at Ecliptor and slashed him across the chest. The monster recoiled but responded with a blow of his own, catching the red ranger on the lower abdomen. Andros staggered away giving Ecliptor the opening he was looking for. He fired off a laser blast from his eyes, knocking the red ranger into the side of the store.

"You're still no match for me", Ecliptor taunted, "a bit like the rest of your planet". Andros roared in anger and sprang to his feet. His arms were a blur as he attacked Ecliptor furiously. The monster struggled to keep up with the red ranger but he was successfully repelling all of blows that were raining down on him. Andros lifted his saber high over his head, giving Ecliptor an opening. He punched the red ranger in the stomach and followed that up with three vicious blows across the chest with his sword. Andros flew into the air and crashed to the ground in the middle of the abandoned road.

Andros tried to get to his feet but he fell back to ground, exhausted and beaten, "Damn you Ecliptor".

Ecliptor kicked Andros in the ribs and rolled him over onto his back, arrogantly pinning him in place with his foot, "Any last words?"

The red ranger didn't get a chance to reply as a burst of laser fire slammed into the garage, reducing it to a pile of splintered wood. The force of the explosion blew Ecliptor across the street and into a dilapidated house. Andros looked up and saw the Astro Megaship hovering overhead, "Sorry about that, my aim was a bit off", he recognised the voice as Cassie's. Underneath his helmet he laughed, wincing in pain from his injured ribs.

Four flashes of coloured light appeared around him as the other rangers teleported down from the ship, "We need to stop saving you like this Andros", TJ joked.

"Can you stand", Carlos added and extended his hand. Andros groaned in pain but he was able to grab hold of the black rangers gloved hand and drag himself back to his feet. Over the other side of the street Ecliptor had gotten back to his feet, shaking off dust and sand from his body.

"Let's take him down", Andros said, "together". He retrieved his saber and attached it to his Astro Blaster, "Spiral Saber Booster Mode".

"Quadro Blaster", Carlos called as the other rangers gathered around him. They fired off a blast of energy at Ecliptor which struck him in the chest. Ecliptor looked down at the hole in his chest before he fell to the ground. As the rangers celebrated, Andros fell to his knees in pain.

"Come on let's get him back to the ship", Ashley said as he took hold of Andros' arm, they teleported back on board before leaving in the Megaship.

A few minutes later a flash of purple light appeared in the abandoned town of Silver Lake. Astronema approached Ecliptor before kneeling down in the dust next to his body, "Oh Ecliptor", she sighed, "I told you that this vengeance quest would end in failure". She touched the whole in his chest, "If you weren't kept alive by Dark Specter's will and magic then this would have been fatal. I'm not looking forward to telling him how this happened". She stood up and slammed her staff on the ground, teleporting them back to the Dark Fortress.

_Astro Megaship_

The Megaship had safely landed back in Angel Grove and the rangers from Earth were waiting patiently for Andros to finish patching himself up. After an hour he walked back onto the bridge, struggling to put his jacket back on due to his damaged ribs, "Here let me help you with that", TJ said as he assisted the red ranger.

"Thanks", he replied before addressing everyone, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have gone by myself".

"Still not used to having a team around you?" Cassie asked, "We should apologise as well, we haven't really made an effort to include you into our group".

Andros sighed, "I've been out in space for so long that I've gotten used to doing this my way. I did realise this morning that I enjoying have you guys as team mates. That's why I've decided to make this official". The others were confused when Andros left the bridge only to return moments later with four kit bags in his hands, handing a bag each to the other rangers. They looked inside and found a uniform identical to Andros', except the shirt matched their ranger colour, "Welcome to the Space Rangers everyone" he said with a smile.

The rangers whooped with joys and ran to hug Andros, only for him to wince in pain at their touch. They all backed away and apologised, "This is awesome Andros", TJ said.

"Can we try them on?" Ashley asked.

"Sure you can use some of the empty quarters down the corridor", he replied. They grabbed their bags and practically ran down the corridor towards the crews quarters.

Andros smiled before slumping into the captain's chair. He was still annoyed that Ecliptor had fooled him so easily with the Karovian distress beacon but then he remembered that the monster knew his only weakness. He reached under his shirt and pulled out an ornate silver locket. He popped a catch on the back of the locket and pulled out a small disk.

Sighing he placed it into the vidiplayer and began to relive the worse memory of his life. He saw a younger version of himself practicing his telekinesis with a young blonde girl of the same age. When their practice ball flew away, his younger self ran off to retrieve it. Andros had watched this thousands of times and each time he wished that the boy in the red jumpsuit had stayed behind to protect his twin sister. Andros wept as he heard the young girl screaming for someone to save her but it was futile. His sister was taken before he return back to the area where they had been playing.

In his chair Andros wiped his eyes and placed the disk back into the locket, "I will find you Karone", he whispered, "even if it's the last thing I do". He took a few deep breathes to calm himself before leaving the bridge in search of the other rangers.

_**A/N – **__Andros is learning...slowly I'll admit but it's a step in the right direction. Going back to the last chapter, Andros got a keycard from a character calling himself 'The Doctor'. I meant to say this last time but this isn't __**the**__ Doctor (blue box flying guy) just in case you thought this was going to turn into a cross over with Doctor Who. _


	6. Blackmail

_Chapter 6 – Blackmail _

_April 24 1998 – Stewart Residence_

A couple of days ago Andros had accepted Charlotte's offer to move into one of her spare rooms. The other rangers had taken the opportunity to also move into the house as there was more than enough space for all of them to stay. The decision was made easier after Andros had scouted several hiding places for the Astro Megaship when it wasn't in use. With the Galaxy Gliders and access to a teleportation system, the Megaship would still be within easy access, even if it was in a different state. Astronema had shown that she was much sharper and much more ruthless than previous enemies so keeping the ship in one place was out of the question.

The red ranger was in the front room with Ashley sorting through the few possessions that Andros had brought with him from the Megaship. He wasn't sure what it was about the yellow ranger but Andros found her company pleasant. Everyone else was out for the day so they had the entire house to themselves. The red ranger was a little confused as to why Ashley kept stumbling over her words and turning red periodically. Perhaps she was coming down with something, he thought to himself.

The peace and tranquillity was ruined when Carlos pushed the front door open and grunted a hello to the pair. He flopped down face first on one of the sofas and lay there unmoving for a few seconds. The red and yellow rangers looked at each other in confusion and slowly crept over to their team mate. "Erm Carlos is everything ok?" Ashley asked. The black ranger mumbled a response but it was muffled by the sofa cushions. "Sorry Carlos you're gonna have to speak up".

Carlos rolled over slowly, "Silvy", he groaned, "it's all her fault".

Andros furrowed his brow, "Who's Silvy" he asked, "is she one of Astronema's soldiers?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself", Carlos replied as he slowly sat up, "she's my city appointed little sister".

The red ranger was still confused so Ashley explained, "A few months ago the city began a volunteer program to help out some of the younger kids in the city. They were assigned to an older teenager who would hang out with them for a few hours. It was mostly to reassure them during a monster attack and to provide someone for the youngster to turn to in the event of an emergency".

"Oh right", Andros replied, still not really sure what the point of this program was.

"This is like the third day in a row Carlos", Ashley said to the black ranger, "no wonder you're knackered".

Carlos sighed and pulled out his hair tie, letting his long black hair loose, "Tell me about it", he began, "I've got a bit of a confession to make, she knows I'm a Power Ranger".

Ashley looked shocked but surprisingly Andros didn't even flinch, "Carlos who could you let this happen?" Ashley cried.

"I didn't mean to", Carlos groaned, "it all happened a few days ago".

_Flashback 4 days ago, Angel Grove Mall_

_Loaded up with shopping bags, Carlos questioned how Silvy had talked him into going shopping with her. It could have been the guilt he felt for missing her eleventh birthday a week ago. Her mother had been only too happy for the black ranger to take her to the mall for a day. He groaned as Silvy ran enthusiastically into yet another clothes shop. When she noticed Carlos wasn't immediately behind her she ran back out again, "Come on Carlos hurry up", Silvy called out._

"_Silvy can't we take a rest for a few minutes", Carlos replied, "my feet are killing me"._

_The girl rolled her eyes, "Mummy said you'd be like this, men are always moaning about going shopping"._

_Carlos chuckled, "Are you sure you're only eleven"._

"_Well I am a little small for my size", she replied._

"_That's not what I meant", Carlos smiled. He spotted a photo booth a few stores down, "All right I'll do you a deal. I need to get a few photos done for my passport, if you wait here whilst I do that we'll go for ice cream later". _

_Silvy thought about this for a few moments before breaking out into a broad smile, "Alright Carlos". The black ranger nodded in response and left Silvy outside the store with the shopping. Entering the photo booth, Carlos adjusted the seat and placed a few coins into the machine. Just as he was getting ready to take the first photo, he heard a sudden scream come from inside the mall. Peaking out the booth, he noticed that several Quantrons had entered the mall. _

_Looking around he noticed that everyone was more interested in escaping than watching who was inside the photo booth. Making a quick decision Carlos activated his morpher and called, "Let's Rocket". In a flash of light he had morphed and jumped out of the photo booth with his Lunar Lance in hand. The Quantrons were caught off guards and the ones near the photo booth were quickly dispatched. _

_Chasing after the remaining footsoldiers, Carlos failed to notice that the photo booth had taken his pictures during his morph. He also didn't notice that Silvy had been hiding near the booth when the Quantrons attacked. She pulled the photos out of the machine and gasped when she saw the evidence of Carlos morphing into the black ranger. She looked around at the bags nearby and a devious smile appeared on her face._

_Present day_

"So you're getting blackmailed by a kid", Ashley replied incredulously.

"Ever since that day she won't leave me alone", Carlos groaned. "We've been to the park so many times I've lost count. I've treated her to breakfasts, lunches and snacks it's almost unbelievable. Today she had me reorganise her entire bedroom, I'm totally exhausted". Carlos looked up and noticed that Andros was laughing to himself, "What's so funny?"

"This is why the rangers on KO-35 made their identities public", he replied, "plus she's eleven years old Carlos, she can't be that much hard work".

"Just because that's how your rangers did things doesn't mean we should as well", Carlos began, "it was one of the most important rules that we were given when we first got our powers".

"Well there's no one here to take your powers away from you", Andros stated, "I'm just saying it would make things much easier for you". Andros smiled and walked towards the kitchen muttering little girl as he did.

"Stupid space man", Carlos grumbled, "what does he know?"

"He does make a good point", Ashley replied, "Astronema already knows our identities so keeping them secret won't stop her coming after the people we care about".

"Of course you'd side with him", Carlos smiled, "everyone knows you're in love with him".

Ashley turned bright right and it took her a few moments to regain her composure, "That's beside the point. You need to talk with Silvy and explain that blackmailing is wrong".

Before the yellow ranger could continue, Carlos' cell phone began to ring, "If this is her, she's not going to make it to twelve". He looked at the caller ID and saw it was Silvy's Mom, "Hello", he answered. His expression turned to confusion as Silvy's Mom began speaking, "I don't understand I dropped Silvy off half an hour ago". Carlos sat upright on the sofa, "Taken, by who?" By now the black ranger was on his feet, "Don't worry Janet I'm sure the Power Rangers can handle it".

"What's going on?" Ashley asked.

"One of Astronema's monsters took Silvy", Carlos said, "probably because it heard me taking to her about being a ranger". He grabbed a jacket from a nearby chair and called out to the kitchen, "Andros we've got trouble", not waiting for a response Carlos marched out of the house with his fellow rangers close behind him.

_Angel Grove Communications Tower_

On a hill overlooking the city stood a tall silver communications tower which provided television and telephone signals to the city below. Standing at an access panel near the tower was an orange robotic lizard. The frill around his neck was stylized to look like a satellite dish. He was frantically typing something into the keyboard that was inside the access panel. Tied onto one of the stanchions was Silvy, the monster had kidnapped her because he thought she could give him information on the Power Rangers.

"Now that should route all incoming information into me", the monster, Datascammer, said to himself, "soon Astronema will have access to any incoming communications into Angel Grove".

"What about me?" Silvy cried as she struggled against her bonds.

Datascammer approached the girl menacingly, "Well you've got some very important information about the Power Rangers. You did say that you knew them personally".

"Well only one", Silvy replied, "and I'm not telling you anything".

The monster smiled, "I do have ways of making you talk", the dish around his neck began to glow and Silvy leaned as far away as she could.

"Get away from her you monster", Carlos called out. He charged towards the monster with his lance in hand. With a wild swing he sliced the monster across his chest, knocking him away from the young girl.

Andros used his Astro Blaster to slice through the ropes and Silvy flopped forwards. Carlos leapt forward and caught her before she hit the ground, "Carlos you came", she said and hugged the black ranger tightly. "I thought you'd still be mad at me for forcing you to hang out with me".

"Of course I came Silvy", Carlos replied, "but the blackmailing has to stop alright?"

Silvy sniffed, "Alright Carlos, I've got something to tell you", the moment though was interrupted by Datascammer firing a blast in their direction. Carlos shielded the young girl from the worst of the blast. Ashley returned fire with her Star Slinger, knocking the monster on to his back.

"That'll have to wait Silvy", Ashley called out, "take cover down the hill, we'll come and find you later". The young girl nodded and ran for cover just as TJ and Cassie flew in on their Galaxy Gliders.

"You took your time", Carlos began, "do I want to know what you were up to?"

"Probably not" Cassie replied, "what's going on here".

"This is Datascammer", Andros replied, "Astronema using him to obtain data from a planet she's about to invade". He looked around and saw something near the access panel, "looks like he placed something in the tower, can you and TJ disable it?" The pink ranger nodded and dragged TJ over the tower.

"Oh no you don't", Datascammer called out, "no one interferes with my data gathering". He was about to fire a blast at the pink and blue rangers but he was stopped by Carlos slicing his lance across his stomach. Andros summoned his Spiral Saber and drove it hard into the ribs of the monster, giving his team mates time to deactivate the data skimmer. The red and black rangers combined well to keep the monster at bay, alternating slashes with their weapons. Datascammer roared in pain and kicked out at the two rangers, knocking them on their back.

Carlos got up and pulled out his Astro Blaster. He linked it together with his lance and pointed it at the monster, "Try this on for size", he called out. He fired a pulse of black energy at the monster, however, Datascammer was ready for him. He reflected the blast back at the three rangers, sparks flew off their suits as they crumpled to the ground.

"Ok so that didn't work", Ashley choked out. The monster was prevented from attacking by a burst of pink and blue energy that slammed into his chest. Datascammer collapsed to the ground as TJ and Cassie met up with their friends.

"Did you stop Datascammer's transmission?" Andros asked.

TJ nodded, "Let's just say his show got axed", he smiled underneath his helmet and tossed his Astro Axe into the air. The others groaned at the terrible pun from the blue ranger.

"You rangers are going to pay for that", Datascammer cried as he struggled back to his feet.

"Yeah sorry that pun was awful", TJ shrugged.

Cassie nudged him in the ribs, "I think he means we're going to pay for shooting him sweetie", she whispered with false sweetness.

"You're going to pay for kidnapping Silvy", Carlos replied, ignoring the banter between the blue and pink rangers. He almost snatched the other rangers weapons from their hands and formed the Quadro Blaster. Andros assembled his Spiral Saber into booster mode. The rangers fired off a blast of energy at the monster who fell to the ground and exploded.

"Well that's another one down", Ashley said to the others, "come on let go find Silvy".

"Silvy?" Cassie asked, "as in your 'Little Sister' Silvy?"

Carlos grasped the pink ranger's shoulder, "Oh have we got a story to tell you".

_Astro Megaship – The next day_

After finding Silvy a bit further down the hill, the young girl apologised again to Carlos. She had explained that he often got lonely at home as her Mom worked long work at the High School. She also revealed that her younger brother had passed away two years ago from Leukaemia and it had always been his dream to go into space when he was older. His anger towards the young girl immediately evaporated and Carlos offered her a special treat.

"Are you sure this is alright", Silvy asked the black ranger as they walked through the corridors of the Megaship.

"Don't worry I've cleared it with the Captain", he replied. Dressed in his Space Ranger uniform, he had given Silvy a tour of the Megaship. The black ranger had spent nearly an hour answering various questions from the young girl. The tour concluded with the bridge where the other ranger were waiting, also dressed in their uniforms.

"So what do you think Silvy", Cassie smiled.

"This is amazing", she replied, "and this ship is all yours", she asked Andros.

The red ranger smiled, "One of the perks of being the red ranger", he replied.

"We do have one final treat for you", TJ added. He activated the viewing screen to show that the Astro Megaship was now in orbit above Earth.

The young girl was speechless that she was actually out in space, "I asked Andros if we could go into orbit", Carlos began as he crouched down next to Silvy. "Whilst I was giving you the tour we secretly launched into space".

A stray tear rolled down Silvy's face as she hugged the black ranger, "Thank you", she said, "I just wish Nick was here to see this". She swiped her eyes and reached into her jeans, pulling out a drawing of a rocket ship. She walked over to Andros and gave him the picture, "Could you put this up in the ship somewhere?" she asked, "At least then a part of Nick will be in space forever".

Andros didn't know what to say. He took the picture from the girl and nodded in agreement. Silvy gave him a watery smile and left the bridge. The rangers smiled at the red ranger and followed the girl, all except for Ashley, "You're a big softy really aren't you?" she laughed.

"I couldn't refuse her request", Andros replied, "plus she reminds me so much of", he stopped suddenly, realising he was about to say Karone's name, "the young children of KO-35". He quickly moved towards the door, "I'm going to find somewhere to put this", he called out and stepped off the bridge. Ashley shook her head, the red ranger was hiding something. They had promised not to keep secrets from each other anymore. The yellow ranger resolved to get to the bottom of the enigma that was Andros as soon as possible.


	7. Angry Again

_Chapter 7 – Angry Again_

_April 30 1998 - Stewart Residence _

It was early in the morning and all the occupants of the Stewart household were asleep, except for one. In his room Andros was wake awake and he had been for several hours. After moving in with the other rangers, Andros had been given Doug Stewart's old room. Charlotte and Justin had kept their old rooms, leaving Cassie and Ashley to share the final bedroom. The other boys had drawn the short straw and were sleeping downstairs in the front room.

The red ranger had brought a lot of equipment with him from the Megaship, under the pretence for searching for Zordon. The computers were doing that but at the same time they were also running a separate search for Andros' sister. He sighed as he eliminated another region of the galaxy and began to search in a different area. Several times over the last fifteen years, Andros had considered the possibility that Karone was dead. But something in the back of mind was telling him that she was alive. Perhaps it was a telepathic bond that all Karovians shared with their family, or maybe it was just a twin thing.

While it was a large galaxy, Andros would have expected his sister to show up somewhere. Humans weren't that prevalent in every region and the mysterious appearance of a young human girl would have raised some red flags somewhere. It was this strong belief and determination that kept him going during these long hours of searching.

He was watching the surveillance footage from that fateful day again when suddenly he heard the floorboards outside his door creaking. He immediately turned the screen off and grabbed his Astro Blaster from the bedside table. Keeping it behind his back he approached the door and pulled it open. He was relieved to see that it was just Ashley standing outside. He was then embarrassed when he realised she was only wearing a yellow and white nightshirt that only went down as far as her knees. "Ashley", he mumbled while trying to avert his gaze, "you startled me".

Ashley smiled, "Yeah I can see", she replied noting the Blaster in his hand. She couldn't help but notice that his cheeks were flushed and thought how cute he looked. She realised that they had been standing in silence for a while so she regained her senses and continued, "I heard a noise so I went to investigate. Then I saw your light on and thought you were in trouble".

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb you", he apologised.

The yellow ranger looked over her team leader and noticed the dark circles under his eyes. She then saw that his bed hadn't been slept in, "Andros have you been up all night?"

Andros looked at the clock and saw it read 5am, "Yeah I guess I have, must've lost track of time".

Ashley's eye narrowed, there was something bugging her. The others had noticed the odd patterns in his behaviour, sleeping for just a few hours a day and the reluctance to share anything about his life before he met the others. "Look Andros I don't want this to sound rude but we're worried about you", Ashley began. "We promised that we wouldn't keep any secrets from you and we've kept our end of the bargain".

The red ranger looked at Ashley dangerously, "Are you accusing me of keeping secrets?"

"Not accusing", Ashley replied, "but you're hiding something and if it's detrimental to the team then I think we should know".

"Do you", Andros began and sat down on his desk chair, "if you must know I've been working to try and find Zordon". It wasn't a total lie but it wasn't the whole story, "Perhaps everyone else should be doing the same thing instead of goofing off all the time".

"How dare you", Ashley shouted, "you know for a fact that we would if we had the same equipment that you did". She breathed deeply to try and regain her composure, "you may not have wanted to join up with us but you should at least work on treating us as your equals".

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Andros shot back.

"You know exactly what I mean", Ashley replied, "I can't speak for everyone but I certainly feel that you don't treat me as a team member. You rarely include us in these searches that you conduct and you're reluctant to join us during our training sessions. Until you do that don't you dare accuse us of slacking off spaceman".

The pair looked at each other murderously but before the argument could continue the computer beeped. Andros immediately called up the search programs but he was confused. There were no search results listed. "What is it?" Ashley asked as she peered over his shoulder.

"I'm not sure", he replied, "the computer's found something but it's not directly connected to my Zordon location program". He pushed a few buttons and a message appeared on screen, "Incoming encrypted message, that's weird".

"Isn't DECA set up to receive email", Ashley tried to joke but Andros didn't get the reference. Instead he tried entering a password but this was rejected. He tried a few more times but the computer kept telling him that he wasn't authorised to view the message. "I'll wake Justin and Charlie, perhaps they can do something", Ashley said and Andros merely grunted in response. The red ranger was confused, who could send a message like this?

A few hours later neither Andros nor the Stewart siblings were closer to cracking the encryption on the file. For the first hour everyone gathered around the computer and waited in anticipation but as time passed the others began to drift away. Andros though decided to remain and watched as Charlotte and Justin worked. While it was clear that the former blue Turbo ranger was good with computers, her younger brother was marginally better. Inevitably this led to some arguments between the siblings.

Andros looked at the pair enviously, he hadn't got the chance to argue with his sister like Stewart's were doing right now. Despite their bickering it was obvious that they cared for each other though. Andros hoped that wherever Karone was, she at least knew that he hadn't forgotten about her and he was searching to try and find her. He watched Charlotte and Justin argue a little while longer but eventually he couldn't take it anymore, it was making him far too envious.

He walked downstairs and found that the house was empty. He went into the kitchen and saw the others playing a game that they called basketball. They claimed that it was part of their training regime but to him it just looked like they were running around after a ball. Deciding that a walk would clear his head, he grabbed a jacket from the peg and left through the front door.

He walked away from the house and thought about the things Ashley had said earlier. He had given them the morphers and uniforms so of course they were part of the team. Then again perhaps he was still keeping them at arm's length. He mocked their game of basketball and its benefits to their team work but he had never tried it either.

He didn't know how long he had been walking but soon Andros found himself in a rocky patch of scrubland. Maybe it was time to go back and this time he would tell them everything, starting with the story of his sister's disappearance. He sighed as he thought about Karone again and he wished that she was with him right now.

"Well well, what do we have here", he heard a voice call from behind him. His blood immediately ran cold as he turned around to face his mortal enemy, "Out for an early morning stroll", she teased.

"Astronema", he growled, "come to do what your minions have failed to do".

"Perhaps", she began and tapped her staff on the ground a couple of times, "maybe I just wanted to say hello".

"Well now you've done that, you can leave", Andros spat.

"So much anger red ranger", she smiled, "what did I ever do to you", Astronema added with a mocking tone.

By now Andros was barely controlling his anger, "You know exactly what you did, you destroyed my home planet, killed hundreds of thousands of Karovians", he swallowed before continuing, "including my parents".

"Maybe they deserved it", Astronema shot back with a vicious tone. She fired a blast from her staff which Andros narrowly avoided. Quickly morphing he summoned his Spiral Saber and charged at the Princess of Evil. Astronema managed to block a couple of swings before jamming the end of her staff into the ribs of the red ranger. Andros cried out in pain and dropped down to one knee, much to the delight of Astronema.

Underneath his helmet, Andros ground his teeth before going on the attack again. This time he mixed in a few kicks to try and throw Astronema off guard but whatever he tried, she seemed to have an answer for it. The Princess of Evil used her staff to sweep out Andros' legs and he crashed to the ground with a bump, dropping his saber in the process.

Astronema laughed and brought her staff up into an attacking position. Almost on instinct Andros used his telekinetic abilities and summoned his saber back into his hand. From his prone position slashed the weapon across the unprotected legs of Astronema. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching at her legs. Andros rolled away and gasped when he saw red blood on Astronema's gloved hands. The Spiral Saber had cut through her suit and her legs were bleeding badly, "You're human?" he managed to splutter.

"Of course I'm human", Astronema roared, "what else would I be?"

The red rangers didn't know how to respond. He always assumed that the public face of Astronema was just a human disguise. He never once thought that she was actually a human, "Then why to you fight for Dark Specter?" he asked.

Astronema struggled back to her feet and retrieved her staff, "Revenge", she growled, "a team of rangers killed my family and I will stop at nothing until all rangers had been wiped out in the galaxy".

"But that can't be right", Andros replied, "Power Rangers would never kill other humans, you must be mistaken".

"You're calling me a liar?" Astronema pointed her staff at the red ranger, "you'll be the first one of your team to die". She fired a powerful blast of purple and black energy at Andros. Somehow the red ranger was able to connect his blaster to the Spiral Saber to put it into Booster Mode. A wave of red energy met Astronema's in the middle of the wasteland. The pair battled for supremacy, forcing all of their energy into their respective attacks.

After a few moments, Astronema's energy wave was slowly edging its way toward the red ranger. Andros was putting everything he had into his attack but he was slowly running out of energy. Suddenly four shadows appeared overhead, signalling the arrival of the other rangers. Carlos jumped down with the Quadro Blaster already in hand. Cassie, TJ and Ashley jumped down behind him and the black ranger fired the weapon.

The energy blast from the Quadra Blaster tipped the balance in Andros' favour and Astronema knew that she was beaten. She had just enough time to throw up a magical shield before the energy wave slammed into it. She was saved from the worst of the blast but the shockwave still knocked her off her feet. Immediately leaping to her feet, she stared across at the five rangers defiantly before teleporting away.

Andros breathed a sigh of relief before sinking to his knees, "Thanks", he gasped.

"What the hell Andros", Carlos began, "I thought you weren't going to run off without us again?"

The red ranger shook his head, "I didn't run off, I was walking and Astronema got the jump on me". The black ranger sensed the honesty in his words and immediately backed down.

"I should have told you I was going out, I'm sorry", Andros apologised. "Look can we head back, I've got some things I want to share with you". The others nodded and jumped on their Galaxy Gliders and flew back to the Stewart's house.

An hour later, Andros had finished explaining to everyone about Karone and the search he was conducting for her in secret. The others were initially annoyed that he hadn't told them from the start but they soon moved past it and offered to help Andros in his search in any way they could. In return they got Andros to agree to play a game of basketball with them. They were heading out to the garden when Ashley pulled Andros aside, "Hey I just wanted to apologise for this morning", she began, "I didn't mean to sound like a bitch".

Andros nodded, "Apology accepted", he replied, "I should apologise too, what I said was completely out of line".

"We make a right pair don't we", Ashley smiled and extended her hand, "friend's again?" Andros nodded and shook her hand. As he did so he took a good look into her eyes, he had never noticed what a deep shade of brown they were before. He liked the way they seemed to sparkle when she smiled, like they were doing right now. Their touch and gaze lingered for a while and they were gradually inching closer to each other.

The moment though was ruined by a pounding coming from the stairs as Charlotte and Justin sprinted down. Andros and Ashley immediately dropped each other's hand like they had been electrocuted. "Sorry did we interrupt something?" Charlotte asked with a smile.

The yellow ranger regained her composure and brushed her hair behind her ear, "No just two friends reaching an understanding", she replied.

"Right", Charlotte drawled, "anyway we've decrypted the message".

"You have?" Andros asked.

"Yeah, have you ever heard of a company called INET?" Justin asked. The red and yellow shook their heads, "Man how could you not have heard of INET".

"Because we're not all nerds like you butthead", Charlotte smiled.

"Hey cut that out douchebag", Justin shot back.

"Guys can you get to the point", Ashley cried out in frustration.

Justin nodded sheepishly, "Sorry", he said but nudged his sister for good measure, "anyway INET stands for International Engineering and Technology. They're kinda like Microsoft but they only deal in commercial and defence computing rather than personal computing. The message we received was from them".

Andros looked at the youngster in confusion, "Why would this INET company contact us?"

"Dunno it didn't say", he replied, "but it said the CEO wants to meet you in its global headquarters in Tokyo in a week's time".

The two rangers were still surprised that a global corporation would contact them directly. Perhaps a more important question for Andros was how could INET send him a message? There weren't many people in the galaxy who could send a direct message to DECA. The red ranger smelt a trap but at least they would have a week to decide whether to spring it or not.

_**A/N – **__Oh Andros, you don't even realise that your wish came true..._


	8. Can't Repeat

_Chapter 8 - Can't Repeat_

_May 7 1998 – Tokyo, Japan_

High up in the atmosphere the Astro Megaship was cruising at a steady pace. The rangers were travelling across the Pacific for their meeting with the CEO of INET, Doctor Eikichi Kubota. Andros still hadn't worked out how INET had transmitted the encoded message to DECA. It was a question the red ranger would ask the good doctor when he met with him later today.

In the galley the Earth rangers were teaching their leader how to play poker. Andros had been true to his word and over the last week he had been trying to integrate himself with the teens from Earth. TJ had shown him a game of baseball on the television, unfortunately the red ranger fell asleep during the sixth innings. He had been extremely apologetic to the blue ranger but TJ laughed and reassured him the game wasn't for everyone. Andros had tried several different types of food, including Chinese and Mexican. He had wanted to try pizza but the Earthicans weren't so keen, something to do with a previous bad experience involving pizza.

"I'm not sure I understand this game", Andros stated as he looked at his cards in confusion.

"It's more a game of luck", Carlos replied, "but the real skill is in the bluff". Andros raised an eyebrow so the black ranger continued, "Deceiving your opponents into thinking that you've got a bad hand when actually you've got a good one".

The red ranger still didn't get it, "How can a game that teaches deception be entertaining?"

"I think deception is a strong word", Cassie said as she threw in a few plastic chips, "it's your call by the way".

Andros shook his head and looked at the cards in his hand, followed by the face up cards on the table. "Well I don't think I have anything good so I'll put a few of these plastic things in".

"See Andros you're not meant to tell us that", TJ smiled, "I'm going all in", he pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table.

"Me too", Ashley added and copied the gesture, "let's see what you've got".

The red ranger turned his cards over, "I've only got this red and black one, is that any good?"

TJ looked at the cards on the table and shook his head, "Andros you've got a full house", he slammed his cards down on the table.

"Really?" Andros smirked as he pulled the chips towards himself.

"You've been playing us" Cassie cried, "you knew how to play all along".

"Well not really", Andros replied, "I've never played poker before but I have played a game called Nikatchi on KO-35. Apparently it's exactly the same".

"I don't believe this", Carlos groaned. At that moment DECA alerted them that they were approaching their destination, "Saved by the bell", he added.

The rangers got up from their seats and moved on to the bridge. The viewing screen showed them that they were currently over Tokyo Bay and moving towards the city. Fortunately the Megaship was high enough above the city that no one below would be able to see them. From their high vantage point, they could clearly make out the sprawling metropolis that was the Japanese capital. "Alright we've got 15 minutes to get to Nesihama Tower", Andros began, "I suggest we take the Galaxy Gliders from here".

Cassie's gaze lingered on the viewing screen for a few moments. TJ saw this out the corner of his eye, "Happy to be back home?" he asked, snaking his arms around her waist in the process.

"I wouldn't call it home really", the pink ranger replied. Her mother was originally from Japan but she had moved to America when she was fourteen. Aimi, her younger sister, was ten years her junior. Her mother had married a Korean American man, giving birth to Cassie went she was 22. "I visited the country a few times that's all", she sighed, "my Mom was always proud of her ancestry. I guess it's a little weird knowing that I'm here and she isn't."

"Yeah I get what you're saying", TJ replied, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Hey lovebirds", Carlos called out, "Andros wants to get going. You can cuddle each other later".

TJ groaned, "I'm going to kill him one of these days". Cassie laughed and kissed TJ's cheek before untangling herself from his arms. They met the others near the jump tubes and leapt into action. After getting fired out of the tubes, the rangers hurtled towards the surface. As they descended they got their first proper look at Tokyo. All the images they had seen summed it up nicely, a bustling and vibrant city full of skyscrapers and bright lights.

Flying between the buildings the rangers began to draw attention from the people below. Giving them a quick wave, they turned their Gliders in unison on their way to the Nesihama Tower. The building in question wasn't massive in comparison to others in the city. It was only 12 storeys high and fronted with black glass. The company's logo was prominent on the side of the building in bold blue neon lights.

Jumping from their Gliders, the rangers walked into the front reception but the place was completely deserted. "This is weird", Ashley whispered. Suddenly a television activated by itself and displayed a message, unfortunately it was all in Japanese. Ashley nudged the pink ranger, "Can you read that?"

"Possibly", Cassie replied as she approached the screen, "I was always better with spoken Japanese than kanji". After studying it for a few moments she announced, "Power Rangers, please report to the twelfth floor".

"Does anyone else think this is a trap?" Carlos asked his team mates.

"I'll admit it's a little suspicious", Andros began, "but surely they would have done something by now if they meant us harm".

"That's a ropey bit of logic", Ashley replied.

"Maybe but we're here now", Andros stated, "and don't tell me you're not curious". None of the others disagreed with the red ranger so they all followed him into the lift. The ride up to the top floor felt like it was taking forever but eventually the doors opened and they stepped out. They had arrived into a poorly lit area but they could make out a large table positioned in the middle of the room. There were several chairs surrounding the table and a large television screen was positioned along one of the walls.

As the rangers moved with trepidation into the room, the lights turned themselves on. A door opened at the far end of the room and a woman joined them. As she approached them, they could see she was of Asian descent and approximately forty years old. She had black hair that was greying in places and it was tied up into a bun. She was wearing a smart black skirt and suit jacket. When the woman got closer, Cassie immediately recognised who she was, "Mom?" she whispered. The other rangers turned their heads towards her slightly but not enough for the woman to notice.

"Good afternoon rangers, my name is Reiko Chan", she greeted, "thank you for showing up".

"Your boss's method of communication peaked our interest", Andros replied. He looked behind Reiko, "Is Doctor Kubota not joining us?"

Reiko sighed, "Unfortunately he passed away last week", she began.

"I don't understand", Ashley replied, "he sent us a message".

"Perhaps I should explain myself", she replied, Cassie muttered something under her breath but it wasn't loud enough for her mother to hear. "For the last three years I have been the personal assistant to Doctor Kubota. It's a job that I've had to sacrifice a lot for but once you see what he's been working on for the last forty years then you'll see that it was worth it". She placed an oval shaped silver case on the table, "When the doctor passed, his final instructions were clear. I had to transmit a message to the Power Rangers and give them this", she pointed at the case.

TJ picked up the case but couldn't see a way in, "How does this open?" he asked.

"I have no idea", Reiko replied, "but there's a video message that I have to play to you. Perhaps that will shed some light". She turned on the screen and turned to leave the room.

"Are you not staying?" Cassie asked, trying her best to disguise her voice.

Reiko shook her head, "The message is for your eyes only, I'll come back once it's finished playing", with that final comment she left the room.

Cassie was still in a state of shock and her gaze hadn't left the door that her Mom had just walked through, "Cass", TJ gave her a nudge, "the films starting, we'll talk about this later", she nodded and joined the others at the boardroom table.

The screen was filled with an image of an elderly Japanese man with thinning white hair, "Hello Rangers", he began, "for the last forty years the world has known me as Doctor Kubota, however, that is a lie". The rangers looked at each other as the face on screen changed to that of a bald Caucasian man with bright blue eyes, "This is my true face and my real name is Omega".

Deep within the minds of the rangers from Earth they vaguely recalled some of the past rangers talking about this man. "If what I have seen is correct then we have never met before. I will not bore you with my history as you can ask your predecessors about me".

"Do you know how this is?" Andros asked the others.

"If my memory recalls he's someone from the future", Ashley replied, "Billy mentioned him a few times".

"I travelled through time for so long that I no longer had a place to call home", Omega continued. "My efforts to prevent the events that led to my future have only delayed when the crucial event took place. I knew that it would occur during this year so I decided to return forty years into the past and set up the company now known as INET".

Omega's eyes turned their attention to Andros, much to the discomfort of the red ranger, "I am aware that there is a Karovian in your team and he probably wants to know how I transmitted data to his ship". By now everyone was slightly freaked out by the strange man who claimed to be from the future. "The truth is that Earth has known about colonies like KO-35 for decades but that knowledge was restricted to agencies like the NFSA. I arranged for INET to supply these particular agencies and as a result several of my components were sent to KO-35. If you look closely then you will see that the computer known as DECA has several materials that came from INET".

"How can all of this have been kept secret?" Andros muttered to himself.

"Now down to business", Omega said, "if you're seeing this then I have passed away and the year is 1998. In that case is an encrypted disk that gives you the location of an orbiting docking station. In that docking station is a weapon created by INET, the Delta Megazord".

"Another Megazord?" TJ gasped.

"The Delta Megazord needs a special keycard to be activated", Omega stated, "due to security concerns I've hidden this somewhere on Earth. The location of the keycard is also encrypted on that disk". The case opened by itself and inside was a disk, just as Omega had told them, "Good luck rangers, the future of Earth is in your hands. I'll leave you with one final statement, she is closer than you think", the screen abruptly went blank.

"What do you think he meant by that?" Carlos asked.

"I'm not sure but I think he's a total whack job", Ashley added. Whilst they were discussing the validity of Omega's claims, Andros had retrieved the disk from the case.

"Did you get your answers", Reiko called out, making the rangers jump.

"Erm kind of", TJ replied, "I'm sorry to cut this short but I think we need to get back to America". Reiko nodded in acknowledgement, "One last question, what are you going to do?"

Reiko sighed, "This job required me to move to Japan and as a consequence, I've missed so much of my daughter's life. I've got a few things to clear up here but I plan to return to America to see her graduate from high school".

Under her helmet Cassie smiled and desperately wanted to run up to her Mom and hug her but that would blow their cover. "I'm sure she'll like that", she replied in her fake voice.

"I just hope she forgives me for my absence", Reiko replied.

"I'm sure she will", TJ added. With a final goodbye the rangers departed the building.

_Astro Megaship_

Cassie was down on the Simudeck and had managed to recreate her bedroom from her old house. She was looking a picture of her parents whilst holding tightly onto a battered teddy bear. A few tears ran down her face and onto the head of the bear. "Nice bear", TJ commented as he entered the simulation.

"He was my first friend", Cassie sniffed, "Han Solo, may I introduce TJ", she moved the bears arm to give the blue ranger a wave.

"Han Solo?" TJ smiled.

"My Dad was a huge Star Wars fan", she laughed. She looked down at the picture again, "I miss him as well".

TJ put his arm around Cassie, "I remember the day you told us they were getting divorced. You brought picture of the woman he had been having an affair with to my place and we threw darts at it for the rest of the afternoon".

Cassie snorted with laughter, "Fun times", she commented, "seems a little childish now".

"You were angry and it was only four years ago", TJ replied. "Funny how things change, if you told me that you'd be my girlfriend and we battled the forces of evil together whilst wearing spandex I would've laughed".

"Does sound silly", Cassie smiled. She sighed before continuing, "I've been angry at my Mom ever since she left but after seeing her today..."

"It's all evaporated", TJ continued, "and now you're wondering if you've wasted the last few years being angry for no reason".

"You're more intuitive then you appear", Cassie replied, "was I right to be angry?"

TJ thought about his response for a few moments, "We can't change the past Cass so I wouldn't dwell on it too much. By the sounds of it you're going to get another chance with your Mom so my advice to you is not to waste it".

"I knew there was a reason I liked you", she smiled. She buried her head into his chest and TJ held her tightly in response. Her boyfriend was right, she would put her anger aside and work on rebuilding her relationship with her Mom as soon as Reiko returned to the States. The couple lay down on the bed and held each other for the remainder of their journey home.

_**A/N – **__So I've got a confession to make, if I could go back and start this series again, I would cut the entire Omega story line. Anyone who's joined this series late will have to go back to stories 1 and 2 for more details about Omega and his background. This was my way of closing off his storyline but still keeping him relevant to the series. Fans of Megaranger will probably recognise Omega's alias. _

_Just to answer a review posted by Megajet: Yup we will see Darkonda later on in this story and I hope chapter answers your question about the other Megazords. The Mega Voyager will be introduced later as well. As for a 'super mode', you'll all have to wait and see..._


	9. Satellite 15

_Chapter 9 – Satellite 15_

_May 14 1998 – Stewart Residence_

It was just after sunset in Angel Grove and out in the Stewart's backyard, the younger Stewart sibling was setting up a telescope. He looked through the lens a few times to check its alignment. Next he plugged a cable into the telescope and wrapped it around the tripod. He ran the cable into a laptop that was set up next to the telescope. He typed in a few commands before activating a program to take images of the sky.

"Hey Justin", TJ greeted as he and Andros stepped out into the yard, "everything ready to go".

"Sure is TJ", Justin replied, "although I don't understand why you can't just fly up there in the Megaship and search for this space station".

"We don't want Astronema to know that we're looking for something", Andros began. "The Dark Fortress is so close to Earth that it could pick up DECA's scans, so we've decided to do this the old fashioned way".

"There's nothing old fashioned about this set up", Justin exclaimed, "I wrote this recording program myself".

TJ laughed, "He's just teasing you man", Andros raised an eyebrow, he didn't think he had made a joke. This technology was out of date compared to KO-35, "why don't you head inside, I think the girls need help with something".

"Sure thing but remember, if you break it you pay for it", Justin hurried back into the house to go in search of the girls.

"I wasn't aware that they were working on anything", Andros asked the blue ranger.

"Oh they are", TJ smiled, "Ashley is trying to sort out an outfit for graduation and Cassie and Charlotte are helping them. Justin will be stuck with them for hours". Andros smiled but more in politeness, the others had explained about graduation and it sounded very important to them. He didn't understand why Ashley needed several weeks to sort out an outfit.

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, taking it in turns to search a region of space. They had decoded the disk that Omega had given them and located the missing keycard on a small island just off the coast of Africa. Now all they needed to do was find this orbiting docking station, unfortunately the disk didn't give them a location for this. There was still one final part on the disk but the instructions were to show this only when Aimi and Xander were present. The rangers weren't sure why but were honouring Omega's last request.

"So what's going on with you and Ashley", TJ smirked.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about", Andros replied, not looking up from the telescope.

"Come on Andros I know you're not the most emotional of people but even you must've noticed that she likes you", TJ teased.

The red ranger looked away from the telescope, "I have noticed and it's getting a little annoying", he sighed.

TJ moved in a little closer, "So you don't think she's attractive then", Andros' cheeks flushed and he looked back into the telescope, "you do don't you", TJ cheered.

"We've got a mission to complete", Andros was able to mumble.

"That wasn't a no", TJ smiled.

"Look I've got more important things to worry about then if some girl like me", Andros replied, "it's your turn to look".

"Ashley isn't just some girl", TJ frowned as he took a seat in front of the telescope, "we've been friends so long she's practically a sister to me. If you don't want to go out with her then you need to tell her".

They fell into silence again as Andros thought about the blue ranger's comments. He hadn't given much thought to dating since he left KO-35, he didn't really have the time. When he was fifteen, his parents told him that there was a marriage contract with a local dignitary's daughter, much to his displeasure. Shelinda was an attractive girl but they weren't particularly close. In a morbid way he had Astronema to thank for putting pay to the marriage. Shelinda and her family had been on the casualties list once the KO-35 government had gotten around to counting the deceased. Another person that Dark Specter's right hand woman had taken away from him.

"Hey Andros", TJ cried, "I think I've got it". He transferred an image onto the laptop, it was a little blurry but it did look like a Karovian docking station to Andros. Certainly its identification didn't correspond with anything on Earth.

"Nice work TJ", Andros said, "we'll go and retrieve the Delta Megazord at first light".

"I don't think it can wait that long", Carlos announced as he and the girls ran into the yard. "Astronema's sent a giant monster into the city".

"Which is rude on two counts", Cassie began, "firstly attacking after dark and she didn't give us a chance to blow it up first".

"Alright TJ, you take control of the Astro Megazord", Andros began, "I'll go to the space station and retrieve the Delta Megazord".

"You can't go up there by yourself", Ashley stated, "what if Astronema tracks your movements".

Andros nodded, "You're right, you can come with me", he stated, much to the yellow rangers surprise. "Right there's no time to lose, Let's Rocket".

_High above Earth_

After morphing Andros and Ashley jumped on to their Gliders and took off into space, after reassurance from Andros that they would work in space and that their suits keep them alive. "We'd be useless Space Rangers if they didn't", he joked, which was probably the first joke he had told in all the time they had known him. Soon the two rangers came across a black and silver space ship that was held into place with several steel girders. The metal beams joined up with the main body of the station, which was the length of the ship but extremely thin.

"There is it", Andros began, "Satellite 15". They found the airlock and Andros inserted the keycard. After a few seconds the door opened and they stepped inside. After passing through another door Andros and Ashley entered the main space station. The lights were dim and it looked like it hadn't been occupied since it had been built. "Alright we have oxygen", Andros stated and removed his helmet. Ashley followed suit, shaking her brown hair loose. They tucked their helmets under their arms and walked cautiously through the station.

"This place gives me the creeps", Ashley began, "doesn't look like anyone lives here".

"Probably never did", Andros replied, "stations like this are essentially factories. New ships are constructed in orbit and the workers are ferried out to the station each day. No one would ever live out here". Andros pointed to a door on his right, "If this is laid out the same as the stations around KO-35, the Delta Megazord should be through here".

He placed the keycard into a slot next to the door and it swung open. The pair walked down a narrow corridor until they reached a ladder. Climbing down they soon passed through a hatch and into a small cockpit. It was similar in lay out to the Astro Megazord but there was only one seat. Much to their embarrassment there was wasn't much room for both of them. They placed their helmets on the console before Andros slipped into the seat. The red ranger inserted the keycard again, only this time he didn't get it back. The console fired into life and a small box rose up through the metal surface.

"What is that?" Ashley asked.

"I'm not sure", Andros replied. He picked it up and it immediately attached itself to his right wrist. It only had three buttons and they were marked 1,2 and 3.

"Five minutes until launch", the computers voice called out.

"Well looks like we've got a few minutes to kill", Ashley smiled. For the first few minutes there was an awkward silence between them.

Finally Andros broke the silence, "Ashley there's something I wanted to talk to you about", he sighed, "it's about us". He paused for a few moments, "I know that you like me but I'm not sure a relationship between us would work".

The yellow ranger bowed her head slightly, "Can I ask why?" she muttered.

"In case you haven't noticed, we're on the front line of an intergalactic war", Andros replied, "hardly the best time to start a relationship. Also I'm probably exactly in touch with my emotions, I could get extremely annoying after a while".

Ashley looked him in the eyes for a few moments, "That's it", she exclaimed.

"Erm pretty much", Andros replied.

"That's the stupidest reasons I've ever heard", she threw her hands in the air, "Andros I'm going to be honest, I like you. In fact I like you a lot. I'm willing to look past your foibles and odd habits but it sounds like you're not".

There was silence between the pair for a few moments. Finally Andros sighed, "Everyone I've cared about had been taken away from me by Dark Specter. My parents, my sister and even my fiancée". Ashley gasped, "It was an arranged married so technically she was my fiancée", he laughed to himself, "I don't think I've ever told anyone else that".

"So why did you tell me?" Ashley frowned.

"I'm not sure, I just feel that I can trust you", he replied. "Can you be patient with me Ashley, let me think about this".

She smiled and placed a hand on his cheek, "You've got all the time in the world, I'm not giving up on you that easily space boy". The computer announced that launching was about to commence, spoiling the moment. They replaced their helmets as the ship slowly moved out of its docking station. As it accelerated towards Earth, Ashley had no choice but to hold on to Andros. She was expecting the red ranger to push her away but to her surprise, he grasped her hand in a reassuring gesture. Perhaps there was hope for him yet she smiled.

The ship broke through the atmosphere and raced towards Angel Grove. In the dark of night, Andros followed the flashes of light that indicated an ongoing battle. As they approached the source of the lights, they saw a giant crocodile like monster stomping onto the fallen Astro Megazord. Pushing a button on the console, the Delta Megaship fired a burst of laser fire at the monster, knocking him away from their fallen friends.

Inside the Astro Megazord cockpit, Cassie called out, "Hey it's Andros and Ashley", in a flash of red and yellow light, the pair teleported into the cockpit.

"Sorry we took so long", Ashley began, "it took a while to activate the zord".

"Yeah sure it did", TJ smirked and stepped out of the command chair. Andros shook his head at the blue ranger before taking his seat back.

"There must be somewhere for this to go", he muttered as he took off the wrist device he got from the Delta Megaship. Recognising the device in his hand, a panel flipped around to reveal a docking port. Placing it in the slot the words 'Battlizer Gauntlet Accepted' flashed up. The Delta Megaship began to change, its rear end split into two sections and its side separated from the main body of the ship. It spun around so the rear end landed on the ground, it was now the legs of the Delta Megazord. There was a yellow 'M' on the chest of the zord and the top of the ship was now the head of the Megazord.

"That's amazing", Ashley began, "the gauntlet must be a remote control".

"Better see what it can do then", Andros replied. Pushing a button in the cockpit, the Delta Megazord responded and slowly began to raise its arm. It fired like a gattling gun, tearing into the monster.

Carlos whistled, "That's one powerful zord".

"Let's put this monster out of its misery", Andros said, "Astro Saber". The sword appeared in the hands of the Astro Megazord and with one slash, the monster fell to the ground and exploded.

"I can't believe we were fighting that thing for half an hour", Cassie began, "then you two come along and blow it up in a couple of minutes".

"Guess we just make a good team", Ashley smiled under her helmet. Andros didn't say anything but underneath his helmet his face was a red as his suit. He disconnected the Battlizer Gauntlet from the console, turning the Delta Megazord back into ship mode. It blasted off back out into space, leaving the Astro Megazord standing tall over the city.

_Stewart Residence_

The next day everyone noticed that Andros and Ashley were behaving awkwardly around each other, making them wonder what happened when they went to retrieve the Delta Megazord. To stop everyone asking questions, the yellow ranger and dragged Cassie and Charlotte down to the mall to go dress shopping. This left the boys alone in the house as Aimi and Xander arrived. The rangers had called them over to tell them about the last part of Omega's final will.

"I don't understand why Omega would leave us anything", Xander stated as Andros handed him a futuristic looking tablet computer.

"I still can't believe he was living on Earth for forty years and we never noticed", Aimi added.

"Well Doctor Kubota was notoriously media shy", Justin began, "made it easier to hide I guess".

Suddenly a small beam of light was emitted from the tablet, scanning Xander's face. He blinked a few times to clear his vision, just in time to read the document that had opened on the screen. After a few moments, he eyes rolled back into his skull and his collapsed onto the sofa. Reacting quickly, Andros caught the tablet before it hit the ground. "What the hell was that about", Aimi cried as she rushed to her fiancée's side.

"Probably shock", Andros replied as he read the message on the tablet. "According to this, Omega left INET and all of its assets to you two".

TJ and Carlos looked over Andros' shoulder and read the message, "Holy shit that's a lot of zeroes", Carlos exclaimed

"Give me that", Aimi took the tablet from the red ranger's hand. She confirmed what he had told her and suddenly felt her knees become weak. She managed to sit down but her face was now as white as a sheet. "At least we won't struggle for money", she smiled.

"So what are you going to do with the company?" Justin asked.

"I have no idea", Aimi mumbled, still in shock, "but we want to help you win this war, so you have our full backing. That's strategically, technologically and financially". Andros nodded in thanks, not only did they now have a new zord in their arsenal, they also had the full backing of one of the most powerful company's in the world. They were one step closer to eliminating the evil of Dark Specter from the galaxy for good.

_**A/N –**__I've been laid up in bed with the flu for the last four days which sucks. Also playing havoc with my writing schedule. Good thing I had a couple of chapters in reserve._


	10. Dyers Eve

_Chapter 10 – Dyers Eve_

_May 26 1998 – Angel Grove High School_

Graduation Day always felt a little strange for any student but for four former pupils at Angel Grove High, this really was the end of an era. TJ, Cassie, Carlos and Ashley stood at the entrance to the school and took everything in for one final time. Tomorrow would be the day that they would leave Earth behind and join Andros in the search for Zordon. The red ranger had finally gotten the hyper drive operational, with a little bit of help from Alpha. The Megaship was fully stocked for an extended flight, all they needed to do was make a quick stop at Satellite 15 to refuel and they would leave their home planet behind.

The main entrance of Angel Grove High still had scaffolding in front of it, a sign of the damage that Divatox's forces had caused to the building a few months ago. Sections of the school were still off limits which was why the ceremony would take place on the quad at the side of the school.

"Taking it all in", Charlotte asked her friends as she slipped her arm around Carlos' waist.

"It still doesn't seem real", Ashley replied, "this time tomorrow we'll be half way across the galaxy".

The former blue turbo ranger sighed, "I hope you don't forget about this place and the people here".

"Hey we would never do that", Carlos kissed the top of her head, "we need you to be our eyes and ears on Earth".

"It was good of Aimi to give you a summer job at INET's new office in the city", TJ stated.

"Yeah I could do with the cash", Charlotte replied, "right shall we get this over with. I need to sit down, these shoes are killing me", she flashed her black high heeled shoes. The others laughed and moved over towards the seated area. When they arrived they saw some familiar faces smiling at them, Adam Park and Kat Hillard.

"Hey guys", Kat smiled, "big day today".

"Like you wouldn't believe", Cassie replied.

"I remember our graduation day", Adam began, it was the day that he and the other rangers had handed back their Zeo powers, "bit of a mixed bag of emotions really".

"The curse of Angel Grove I guess", TJ responded. He then turned his attention to two other people standing nearby. Dressed in their finest suits were Bulk and Skull, "What are you two doing here, I thought you graduated already".

"We did", Skull replied, "still not sure how though".

"You're not the only one", Adam muttered.

"We decided to start our own security business", Bulk continued, "this is our first job, keeping everyone safe at graduation".

"I feel so reassured", Cassie smirked before turning back to Kat and Adam, "so I hear you two are leaving as well".

Kat nodded, "Yeah I'm heading east to MIT with Tommy. I start a course in English in the fall".

"And I've finally gotten enough money together to start my dojo", Adam added, "I'll give you all a discount if you stop by", he passed a business card over to TJ.

"Thanks but I think we're going to be getting enough practice in the next few months", the blue ranger said.

"Speaking of that, where's your new friend?" Adam asked.

"He's fixing up his car", Cassie replied, using a code word for the Megaship, "long trip ahead of us tomorrow".

"Well if we don't see you again, good luck with everyone", Kat pointed to an empty row of chairs, "now you'd better take your seats".

The rangers nodded and moved down towards the front with the other students. As they passed the assembled parents, TJ, Ashley and Carlos gave theirs a quick wave. Charlotte sighed, there was no one here for her today. Cassie on the other hand got a shock when she spotted a familiar face a couple of rows in front, "Mom!" she exclaimed, "what are you doing here?"

Reiko Chan stood up and smiled at her daughter, "I came to surprise you", she replied, "my job in Tokyo is complete so I'm moving back to Angel Grove".

The pink ranger smiled and threw her arms around her mother. After a few seconds Cassie stepped back, "Mom you're ice cold".

"I'm just a little chilly that's all", Reiko began, "it was much warmer in Tokyo than here".

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "Does Aimi know you're here?"

Reiko shook her head, "I just got in this morning, I didn't really have time", she nudged Cassie towards the front, "now the ceremony is starting, we'll catch up later". Cassie nodded and shuffled away, she couldn't put her finger on it but something wasn't quite right.

"Is your Mom alright", Charlotte whispered, "she looks really pale".

"Probably jet lag", Cassie replied, "or maybe she's coming down with something". As the teens took their seats, Principle Kaplin began his speech. Cassie was so engrossed with her thoughts that she didn't hear a single word of it. She was so distracted that she didn't even notice that her name had been called. Blushing with embarrassment, she muttered an apology to Mr Kaplin when she collected her diploma

"Ashley Hammond", Mr Kaplin called. The yellow ranger shook the principle's hand and she was followed by TJ, Charlotte and finally Carlos. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the class of 1998". The audience applauded and the students threw their caps into the air. Just as they did this, the makeshift auditorium was filled with purple light and several Quantrons teleported in. Everyone immediately started screaming and running for safety as quickly as they could.

"Great can't we get a moment's peace", Ashley grumbled. The teens slowly separated themselves from the exodus of students and tried to find a good place to take on the metal menaces. They were approaching the podium when three Quantrons leapt up on to the stage. They began to force Principle Kaplin back toward the fabric lined walls, their curved blades ready to strike.

"We need to help him", Cassie called out. She jumped towards the nearest Quantron and kicked it in the back. The robot bounced off the fabric wall of the giant tent and straight into a kick in its stomach. She noticed a pole with the Angel Grove city flag on it. Pulling it out from its mounting, she drove it into the robot and disabled it.

Carlos and Charlotte had the other two in their sights. The black ranger ripped up the podium and smashed it into the back for the Quantron nearest to him. The helpless creature split in two with spark flying out of its exposed circuits. Charlotte ducked under the blade of her Quantron and elbowed it in the back. She attempted a roundhouse kick but stumbled in her high heels. She landed on hard on her backside, much to her embarrassment, "Don't say a word", she called out to the laughing Carlos. She swept out the legs of the Quantron before removing the offending footwear. She drove the heels into the head of the robot, shutting it down permanently.

"Principle Kaplin are you alright", Ashley asked as she approached the shaking principle.

"Y-yes I'm fine Miss Hammond", he mumbled, "where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Long story", she replied. Just then another Quantron snuck up on her, she only just managed to kick it away before it could hit her with its bladed weapon. The teens huddled around the Principle as more Quantrons began to gather around them.

"Guys I think we need to", TJ waived his wrist in the air, "you know".

The others looked around the auditorium, other than the principle the only people left were Kat, Adam and surprisingly, Bulk and Skull, "But there's still people around", Carlos whispered.

"I don't think you have much choice", Charlotte added.

The active rangers nodded and got into line, "You might want to shield your eyes Mr Kaplin", TJ said. Before the principle could respond, the blue ranger called, "Let's rocket". In a flash of light, four of the five Space Rangers appeared on stage, weapons drawn and ready to fight.

"You're", Principle Kaplin stuttered, "you're Power Rangers?"

"Yeah and we'd appreciate if you could keep that quiet", Carlos replied. Using his Lunar Lance he cut a hole in the tent, "Quickly get out of here, we've got this covered". Principle Kaplin nodded and quickly shuffled through the hole the black ranger had made.

"Mind if I take this", Charlotte pulled Carlos' Astro Blaster out of its holster, "I feel a little under powered". The black ranger nodded and the Space Rangers made short work of the Quantrons on the stage. They leapt over to the others left in the Auditorium and cleared away the remaining robots in short order.

Bulk and Skull slowly walked around the morphed rangers, slightly in awe, "All this time", Bulk muttered, "it was you all along".

"Well not quite", TJ replied, "we're the second wave of rangers you could say".

Skull looked over to Kat, Adam and Charlotte, "Why aren't you three surprised by this". They could almost see the cogs moving in his head, "Either than mean you knew all along, or you were rangers yourself".

"Come on Skull", Bulk scoffed, "Adam here I can believe but ballet and drummer girl, please".

The girl shook their heads, "I was the Blue Turbo Ranger I'll have you know", Charlotte exclaimed.

"Pink Zeo", Kat added.

"Black Mighty Morphin and Green Zeo", Adam raised his hand. Before they could continue, more Quantrons began to swarm into the Auditorium.

Cassie looked up and saw something unusual near the entrance, "Mom?" she called out. Reiko Chan smirked and strutted away from the entrance, "Guys my Mom's still here, we need to help her".

"Right", TJ replied and pulled out his Astro Blaster, "do you guys need some fire power?"

"No thanks, we've got these", Adam replied as he and Kat summoned their Zeo Pistols.

TJ sighed, "I can't believe I'm about to do this", he handed his blaster to Skull. Ashley shook her head and gave her blaster to Bulk, "Don't blow yourselves up", he added as the rangers ran outside, "and I want them back in one piece".

Ignoring the cheerful celebrations of Bulk and Skull, the rangers made their way outside. To their surprise, Reiko was calmly waiting for them, "Hello rangers", she said with a cold tone, "hello daughter".

"What's going on Mom", Cassie stepped forward, "are you helping Astronema?"

Reiko laughed, "Well more Dark Specter really, that prissy little girl doesn't even know I'm here".

"But why?" Cassie asked in confusion.

"Well once I knew you were a ranger what else could I do", Reiko smirked, "after all I wouldn't want to fight on the same side as you". The pink ranger was immobilised by the words of her mother, "You always were worthless Cassandra, the last few years I spent in Japan were the happiest of my life". She moved her head so she was glaring straight through Cassie's visor, "That's because I was away from you".

"Mrs Chan that's enough", Ashley called out. She always liked Cassie's Mom, she had never heard her talk like this before.

"Stay out of this child", she roared, "this is between me and my daughter".

Underneath her helmet, tears were rolling down Cassie's face, "Mommy", she whispered.

"Aww crying for Mommy now are we", Reiko laughed, "Mommy knows just how to make this all better". She raised her arms and splayed her fingers so they looked like claws. She was about to pounce when suddenly a short gasp of pain came out of her mouth and her eyes widened. Cassie looked down and saw the tip of a weapon sticking out of the chest of her Mom. The weapon was withdrawn and someone pushed her Mom to the ground. Standing there was Andros, morphed and with his Spiral Saber in his hand.

"Andros what the hell did you just do?" TJ yelled.

Cassie snapped her head towards the red ranger, "You just killed my Mom", she gasped.

"That's not your Mom Cassie", he replied with a cold edge to his voice. Everyone looked to the ground and the body began to change. It grew taller and Reiko's clothing changed into a long black cloak. It's face wasn't visible but sticking out of the sleeves of the cloak were extremely sharp looking claws. The body gurgled and turned into black vapour that dissipated in the breeze, "It's called a Reaper", Andros continued, "unfortunately I know them well".

"So that means my Mom's alright?" Cassie asked.

Andros didn't reply for a moment and kept his head bowed to the floor, "Cassie you need to find your Aunt", he finally said, "TJ you should go with her".

"I don't understand", Cassie whispered, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on".

"I'm not asking you as a friend Cassie", Andros shot back, "that's an order as your team leader". Cassie didn't say anything further as TJ took her by the arm and they teleported away. When the blue and pink rangers had gone, Andros turned to the two remaining rangers, "We need to help clear out the tent", he said in a monotone voice, "I'll explain more after we've done that". Ashley and Carlos were still confused but followed the order, hoping that Andros had a damn good explanation for them.

_Stewart Residence_

After clearing out the last of the Quantrons and retrieving the Astro Blasters from Bulk and Skull, Andros, Ashley, Carlos and Charlotte returned to the Stewart's. The red ranger still hadn't elaborated on what a Reaper was or why he was so freaked out by it. In fact he hadn't said much at all on the journey back. When they walked through the door, they saw Justin on the couch watching a rolling news channel. He looked at the arrivals with a solemn look on his face, "Hey Justin", Charlotte began, "what's wrong".

The youngster didn't say anything. He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the television. "It's been confirmed that the body found in the bathroom at Angel Grove International Airport belong to that of 40 year old Reiko Chan", the reported said. Everyone except for Justin and Andros gasped at the news, "details are still coming in to us here but eyewitness accounts suggest that Mrs Chan was attacked by some kind of monster".

"That's how you knew what it was", Ashley whispered to Andros.

Andros nodded, "I've come across several Reapers since leaving KO-35. They're one of Dark Specter's most vile monsters. They take the form of someone they've recently killed. They then appear before that person's unsuspecting family and drive them to the point of despair before killing them and taking their form". Andros bowed his head, "The first one I encounter took the form of my Dad, that's how I found out my parents were dead". Ashley put her arm around the red ranger as Justin got up from the sofa and threw his arms around his sister. All of them knew Reiko Chan pretty well and this news had knocked the wind out of them.

The door opened and a bleary eyes Cassie walked through the door with TJ close behind her. Seeing the distress on her friends faces broke the dam on her own grief. She sunk to her knees and let out a horrid sounding wail. TJ wrapped his arm around her and everyone immediately surrounded the pink ranger. One of their own had been taken from them and they would need each other more than ever if they were going to get through their grief.

_**A/N - **Wow a lot happened in that chapter. Firstly a Bulk and Skull sighting and now they're in on the rangers secret. Don't see how that could backfire at all..._

_Now for Cassie's Mom, I always intended for her to be killed off. A little harsh considering she was just about to move back home but war doesn't play fair. I do wish I had built her up a little more before killing her off though. Finally the introduction of a monster I've called Reaper's, they'll be popping up again later on. Imagine Dementors from the Harry Potter series, they look a little like them. _


	11. No Remorse

_Chapter 11 – No Remorse_

_June 3 1998 – Angel Grove Cemetery_

It felt strange for the sun to be shining on today of all day's. A few minutes ago Reiko Chan had been laid to rest, surrounded by her family and the rangers assorted friends. She was now another sad statistic to add to the ever increasing list of monster related fatalities. Astronema had been strangely quiet since Reiko's death, perhaps fearful of the angry backlash that would come from the rangers.

The ceremony itself was short and simple, funded by the wealth that Aimi had inherited through INET. She had spent most of the last week burying herself in the arrangements, mostly to distract herself from her sister's death. At Reiko's graveside was Cassie with TJ standing a couple of paces behind. A few feet further back were Ashley, Carlos and Charlotte. All the teens had ditched their signature colours for the day and found something black to wear.

Cassie laid a single pink rose on the freshly compacted earth and slowly stood up. After reassuring TJ that she wasn't going to cry, the pair approached the rest of her friends, "Thanks for coming today guys", she began, "I know my Mom would've appreciated this".

"Don't worry about Cass", Carlos replied, "all of us really liked your Mom, it's the least we could do".

"I didn't see your Dad here thought", Charlotte commented.

Internally Cassie winced, the relationship with her Dad wasn't great. She hadn't seen him since her parents' divorce several years ago. Even though they weren't on good terms, she had hoped that he would've turned up to support her. Deciding to leave the subject of her Dad to one side, she quickly changed the subject, "Any word from Andros?" she asked Ashley.

"Yeah he's ready when you are", she replied. The red ranger had opted not to come to the funeral for two reasons. Firstly he was meant to be keeping a low profile on Earth. He didn't want word getting out that someone from another planet was living amongst them. Secondly Karovian culture didn't believe in burials and he didn't feel that it was appropriate for him to attend. He still wanted to do something for the pink ranger so he had arranged a private service.

"I didn't think Andros was a religious person", Charlotte said as they walked around the side of the cemetery.

"He's not really", Ashley replied, "he told me that Karovian's don't have a religion as such, it's more like ancient traditions. Karovian's believe that a person's soul returns to the planet after their death but the only way to do that is through a ritual cremation". The red and yellow rangers had spent the last few days bonding over the traditions and cultures of KO-35. Some of them seemed unusual to Ashley but then again, Andros probably felt some Earth customs were weird.

They turned the corner and came across a medium sized pond surrounded by trees. Andros was standing next to the lake with a small wooden raft at his feet, "Hello everyone", he greeted, "how did it go".

"As well as a funeral can go", Cassie replied, giving him a small smile.

Andros nodded in acknowledgement, "I'll talk you through this as we go", he placed the raft on the pond and turned back to Cassie. "Did you bring something that belonged to your Mom?" The pink ranger nodded and handed over a photo album. Andros looked at the book, "Are you sure you want to burn this?"

"Yeah", Cassie replied, "I've taken out a couple of special pictures but I thought if her spirit isn't returning to the planet then at least her memories can".

The red ranger carefully placed the album on the raft, "Normally we would place items important to the deceased on the raft along with their body", he explained. He placed a pile of leaves and wood on the raft before lighting a couple of candles. Their fragranced scent filled the air as Andros began to chant in a strange language, one they assumed was Karovian. Once he had finished chanting, he lit the raft on fire and nudged it into the center of the pond.

Everyone watched the funeral pyre burn for a few minutes before the flames began to die down and the raft sunk into the lake. Cassie walked over to Andros and placed an arm around his shoulder, "Thank you for doing this Andros", she whispered.

"What are friends for Cassie", he replied. The pink ranger was slightly surprised as this was the first time he had called any of them his friends. It was obviously true that grief did bring people closer together.

"I don't want to spoil the moment but we should get going", TJ said to everyone, "we've got a lot of planning to do". Everyone nodded and slowly made their way back to the car park where Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser were waiting for them.

Little did they know that someone had been watching them from the shadows.

_Stewart Residence_

As soon as the funeral goers got home, they changed out of their formal clothes into something more casual. They then gathered in the front room where Xander, Aimi and Justin were waiting for them. Due to the funeral they had delayed their departure from Earth so they needed to finish off the final arrangements. The death of Reiko Chan had also highlighted a serious problem for them. If they were away from Earth, they might draw away some of Dark Specter's forces but probably not all of them. They could be too far away from Earth to return in time to protect it against an attack. There might still be a few rangers and their allies on Earth, the Zeo Rangers in particular. Their powers though were still unreliable to be used in the long term so that largely ruled them out. That's when Xander dived into the INET archives to see if he could find something useful. Today he was presenting them with what he found.

"And you're sure this will work?" Andros asked.

"Reasonably", Xander replied, "it's never been tested before but an INET computer simulation suggested that it should work".

"But a protective field covering the entire Earth?" TJ began, "that thing will need to draw massive amounts of power".

"According to the schematics it runs off the Earth's natural magnetic field", he replied, "we just need to place the transmitting beacons in the correct locations". He brought up a map of the world on the television screen. "There's three locations on the planet where they need to be placed. Due to the size of the beacons, we need at least three people on each".

"Oh and they need to be activated at once", Justin added.

"Hang on though", Carlos said, "I'm not a math genius but there's eight of us, excluding Justin".

"He's not going", Charlotte added quickly.

"I guessed as much", the black ranger continued, "but one team will be a man short".

"I know that's why I've called in some extra help", Aimi replied. Almost on cue there was a knock at the door, "That'll be them", she stood up and approached the door, "try and be nice".

The group weren't sure what she meant by that comment until she opened the door and they were greeted by the beaming faces of Bulk and Skull, "Greetings team", Bulk said.

"This was the best you could come up with?" Ashley began, "all the resources of INET and the best you could do were Bulk and Skull".

"Hey we're not that bad", Skull replied, "plus we really want to help".

"And they know who you are", Aimi added. "We haven't had time to vet everyone at INET yet so we don't know how trustworthy any of them would be with a secret like this".

"Trust me, it's always the person you'll least expect", Charlotte added bitterly. She stood up and approached the television, "Team one will consist of Andros, Ashley, Carlos and Xander. This is the most important location so they've got an extra person. Team two will be Cassie, TJ and Aimi and finally myself, Bulk and Skull will be team three".

"Shouldn't you have some ranger back up with you", Carlos asked, "just in case".

"Ah that's where I have some good news", Charlotte began but she was interrupted by the sound of an alarm.

"What's that noise?" Bulk asked as he covered his ears.

"The attack alarm", Andros replied, "Astronema's attacking the city somewhere". He pushed the television remote and the map changed to one of Angel Grove, "There's a massive energy spike down by the docks".

"That's weird", TJ said, "it's much stronger than anything Astronema's sent before".

"Then we'd better be alert", he replied. The others nodded in response before reaching for their morphers, "Let's rocket", Andros called and the team morphed in a flash of light. They ran into the yard and called on their Galaxy Gliders. One by one they jumped on their boards and soared off into the sky.

_Angel Grove Docks_

When the rangers arrived at the docks, everything was quiet, perhaps a little too quiet. There were no workers in their immediate vicinity so they were safe to disembark from their Gliders without surprising anyone. Cautiously they looked around but after a few minutes searching, they couldn't find anything. "Perhaps they've moved since we picked up the signal", Cassie said.

"We would've seen them though when we flew overhead", Andros replied. He brought his communicator up to his mouth, "Charlotte where's that energy signature now?" he asked.

"According to the reading it's all around you", she replied.

"Hey doesn't this area look familiar?" TJ asked the others.

"I was thinking the same thing", Ashley replied, "reminds of the first place where-"

"I first arrived", a horribly familiar voice called out, "what can I say, I'm a sucker for routine". The rangers turned around and confirmed that their worst fears had come true.

"Divatox", TJ spat. The pirate was still in the wedding dress she was wearing when they last saw her, except now it was frayed and torn around the edges. Her hair was wild and uncombed and there was a maniac glint in her eyes. Her twisted smile was almost animalistic in nature.

"Is that you TJ", she asked, "I must say I preferred you in red".

"How did you survive the collapse of the Muranthias dimension?" Carlos called out.

She tilted her head to one side and grabbed a chunk of her hair in her hand, "Simple really, I absorbed the remains of Maligore's power before the dimension imploded. Been trying to find my way out for ages". She flashed the rangers a toothy smile, "The price of freedom was my sanity".

"So not much then", Cassie shot back.

Divatox clapped her hands together, "Oh how I've missed this banter and I have to say that I really enjoyed your Mom's funeral today". The pink ranger clenched her fists as Divatox hopped up and down on the spot. "My escape also gave me another talent", she looked around a couple of times, "wanna see?" Immediately her skin began to turn red and harden into solid rock. The transformation tore the remains of her wedding dress from her body and her hair fell out of her now rocky skull. She grew in height until she towered a foot above the other rangers. They took a step back as they were now face to face with something similar in appearance to Maligore, except a female version.

"This is not good", Andros gasped. Divatox took one step towards the rangers and swiped at them with her giant fist. They momentarily got airborne before slamming into a nearby shipping container. "Yup definitely not good", the red ranger gasped.

"And do you know the best part about this", the now gravelly voiced Divatox called out, "I get to keep my magic". She shot purple lightning bolts out of her eyes, fortunately the rangers were able to roll out the way.

"How are we meant to fight that?" Ashley asked the others.

"Dunno but I'm going to give it a try", TJ replied and called on his Astro Axe. He jumped towards Divatox and swung his axe at her body but the blade bounced off her rocky skin. "Great her skin's just as hard as Maligore's was", he groaned. Carlos tried to use his Lunar Lance but he had the same lack of success as the blue ranger did. Divatox chuckled and backhanded the two rangers away. They tumbled across the ground and demorphed.

The girls decided to keep their distance from the monstrous mutant pirate and used their Star Slinger and Satellite Stunner to blast Divatox from a distance. Their energy shots rocked the pirate but they weren't causing any significant damage. Divatox responded by using a combination of her laser eyes and her new ability to create fireballs. This duel assault not only kept their girls moving but also prevented them from shooting accurately. It was perhaps inevitable that they would get hit by the pirate. Ashley took the full blast from some purple lightning and Cassie jumped straight into the path of a fireball. They landed next to their fallen team mates and were also forcibly demorphed.

Seeing his team fall around him spurred Andros on even more. Hoping that his Spiral Saber would have some effect against the stony skin of Divatox, he rammed it into her chest. The pirate roared in pain and tried to swipe the red ranger. He almost got out of the way but he caught glancing blow on his shoulder. He staggered in pain and resolved not to get hit by her again. He rolled down low and ran the spiral blade across her legs, hoping to slow Divatox down. As he rolled behind the mutant pirate, he attached his Astro Blaster to complete Booster Mode. From his position on the floor, he fired and caught Divatox in the chest. Initially it looked like she was going to fall but after a few seconds, she began to take walk towards him, "Nice try red ranger", she roared and kicked Andros in the stomach. He flew through the air and slammed into a storage container next to his friends. As he writhed in pain, his morph also failed him.

Divatox strutted towards the fallen rangers and began to gloat, "Finally I'm going to put an end to your meddlesome rangers". Stopped when she caught sight of Andros, "You're new", she muttered. She counted off the rangers with her rocky finger, "I'm missing one". As soon as she said that, a blue jeep slammed into her and sent her crashing into a pile of oil drums. Charlotte stepped out of Storm Blaster and put herself between Divatox and her friends.

"I knew we should've checked to see if you were definitely dead", Charlotte called out.

"You just can't keep a good diva down", Divatox growled as she got back to her feet.

"Charlie get out of here", Carlos shouted, "you don't have your powers, you'll be killed".

"That's what I tried to tell you earlier", she replied. She held up her left wrist and flashed her Turbo Morpher, "I'm back in the game". She turned back to Divatox and pulled out her Turbo Key, "Shift into Turbo", she called. In a flash of blue light she morphed into the blue Turbo Ranger for the first time in two months. She pulled out her Hand Cannons and aimed them at Divatox, "Bring it on Divatox", she snarled.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	12. ReFuelled (Part 1)

_Chapter 12 – ReFuelled (Part 1)_

_**Previously - **__"That's what I tried to tell you earlier", she replied. She held up her left wrist and flashed her Turbo Morpher, "I'm back in the game". She turned back to Divatox and pulled out her Turbo Key, "Shift into Turbo", she called. In a flash of blue light she morphed into the blue Turbo Ranger for the first time in two months. She pulled out her Hand Cannons and aimed them at Divatox, "Bring it on Divatox", she snarled._

_Dark Fortress_

Astronema stomped into the primary communications room inside the Dark Fortress. She had been watching the developments on Earth, eagerly waiting the destruction of the Power Rangers. That was until the Blue Turbo ranger showed up. Just as things were getting interesting, Dark Specter had summoned her. Surely that oversized cliff face could see that the rangers were about to be defeated, couldn't his call wait for a few more minutes?

Pausing at the door, she took a few moments to calm herself and clear her mind of her annoyance towards her master. Confident that she had done this, Astronema entered the room. The communication room still freaked her out a little bit, it was a dark room with absolutely nothing inside it. When Dark Specter wished to speak with her or Ecliptor, he would imagine the landscape below, literally bending reality to his will. He must have sensed her presence in the room as the floor changed into a rocky path way that led to the edge of a cliff. An image of Dark Specter appeared against the dark back drop of the room. Cautiously Astronema stepped towards the edge of the cliff and dropped to one knee, "How can I be of service?" she asked respectfully.

"Rise my child", Dark Specter boomed, "I assume you have seen the developments on Earth".

"I have my liege", she replied, "I was eagerly anticipating the fall of the Space Rangers. It was a shame that the Blue Turbo ranger showed up when she did".

"That doesn't concern me at all Astronema", Dark Specter stated.

Astronema raised an eyebrow, "Forgive my ignorance but I'm not sure I understand".

"That poor excuse for a pirate Divatox has stolen my brother's power", Dark Specter began, "if she continues to wield this power, she could become a threat to me. I cannot allow her to live any longer".

"Surely no one could rival your power", Astronema replied but then she stopped. A thought came over her, "Are you saying that we need to help the rangers?"

"All I'm saying is that I want Divatox eliminated", Dark Specter roared, "how you do that is none of my concern". He paused and his red eyes glowed brightly, "I am disappointed that the rangers continue to live, do not fail me in this task Astronema. I'm sure you know the price of failure". Suddenly the rock gave way underneath Astronema's feet. She jump backwards as a part of the cliff face she was standing on gave way. Fortunately her jump placed her on solid ground. She wasn't sure if a fall in this room would kill her but she really didn't want to find out.

The image of Dark Specter faded and Astronema found herself back in the dark and empty room. She thought about Dark Specter words and wondered how she could eliminate Divatox forever. A dark smile appeared on her face as a plan formed in her head. Turning on her heel, she left the communication room. If her plan worked, she could kill two birds with one stone.

_Angel Grove Docks_

Charlotte pulled the triggers on her Hand Blasters and unleashed a torrent of blue energy at the mutant Divatox. The pirate was able to throw up an energy shield to protect her against the first few blasts but the blue turbo ranger's assault was relentless. After a few more shots, the shield failed and the attacks hit Divatox directly. Similar to the Space Ranger's attacks, Charlotte's Blasters weren't causing any real damage but they were preventing Divatox from attacking.

Eventually Divatox got bored of getting hit with laser fire and in retaliation, she threw a couple of fireballs at the blue turbo ranger. Charlotte ducked out the way of the first one before utilising a hands free cartwheel to avoid the others. "Let's speed things up", Charlotte began, "Turbo Mode activate". From the blue rangers perspective, everything seemed to slow down. Moving at high speed, she was able to avoid the attacks from the mutant pirate. After a few seconds and much to her surprise, everything soon returned to normal speed, "Damn it, my morpher isn't up to full power yet", she muttered. Divatox took this opportunity to attack the blue ranger with her long lizard tongue. It caught Charlotte in the shoulder and threw her across the concrete floor on her backside.

"Charlie!" her friends cried in unison as the blue ranger struggled to get up.

"Alright new plan", Charlotte began, "run away". She slowly got to her feet and picked up on of her Blasters, "Quickly get into Storm Blaster", she called out before turning to the jeep, "Give us some covering fire Storm". The jeep honked in response and used its weapons to attack Divatox. Storm Blasters lasers were much stronger than Charlotte's and they were actually causing some damage to Divatox's rocky skin. The pirate roared in pain as chunks of her skin were blown away by the plucky jeep.

The space rangers bundled into Storm Blaster just as Divatox was recovering. She threw another fireball but Storm Blaster batted it back with his door. Divatox slammed into a storage container with her own fireball but due to her new powers, the heat didn't affect her at all. It did provide an opportunity for Charlotte to jump in the driver's seat of Storm Blaster and put it into drive. With a screech of tyres, the jeep tore away from the docks. Divatox could only scowl with rage as she watched the rangers retreat.

_Stewart Residence_

After returning from the docks, the rangers found the house empty. Deciding to use the back yard as a makeshift emergency room, the rangers tended to their injuries with varying degrees of bravery, "Ouch that stings", TJ cried as Cassie dabbed the cut on his forehead.

"Quit being a baby Teej", Cassie replied, "it's only a bit of iodine. It'll stop that cut from getting infected".

"Right now I'd rather take the pain from the infection", TJ winced as the brown liquid came into contact with his skin again.

"Be a man about it", Charlotte teased. She was wrapping a bandage around Carlos' left arm that had been burned pretty badly, "You might get an impressive looking scar from that", she said to the black ranger.

"Chicks dig scars", he smiled but he got a firm glare from his girlfriend in response.

"Look at Andros over there", Cassie pointed at the red ranger, "Ashley's cleaning him up and he's not making a fuss".

"Probably because he enjoys her touching him", TJ grumbled.

"And you don't like me touching you?" Cassie glared, much to the amusement of the others.

"Ooh dig your way out of that one dude", Carlos chuckled.

"As much as I'd like to see TJ squirm some more, perhaps we should think of a way to stop Divatox", Andros stated.

"Firstly I'd like to know how Charlie got her morpher working again", Ashley asked the blue turbo ranger.

"Well you know how Billy was struggling to get the parts he needed to fix the Turbo Morphers", the other former turbo rangers nodded, "well it turned out that INET everything that he needed. Once he had all the parts then it was easy for him to put it back together. He said that he would get yours working again but he didn't think you'd need them".

"Perhaps he should", TJ replied, "maybe remove the DNA lock from them and someone else could use them if needed", the others nodded in agreement.

"So Divatox", Charlotte stated, "I thought we saw the last of her".

"So did we", Carlos began, "she's like a bad horror villain, doesn't know when to stay dead".

"Nothing we used could hurt her", Cassie added, "the only thing that put a dent in that rocky skin of her hers were the lasers on Storm Blaster".

"Couldn't we use Storm and Lightning Cruiser as weapons?" Ashley asked.

Charlotte shook her head, "I don't think so, the weapons in the cars are more powerful but just like a proper car, they would drain their systems pretty quickly".

"This might sound extreme but could we use the Megaship", Carlos began, "a couple of rounds from the laser cannons and she'd be turned into pebbles".

"It does go against the rule about escalating a battle", Andros replied.

"Yeah but Carlos has a point", TJ added, "I don't like it either but if it's the city or breaking that rule, I know what I'd choose".

Andros sighed, "I know but it still doesn't feel right".

"Perhaps I can be of assistance", a voice called out. The rangers turned around and immediately jumped to their feet, "That's what I like about you rangers", Astronema continued, "so noble even in the face of a monster like Uber-Divatox".

All of the rangers quickly had their blasters pointed at the Princess of Evil, "How did you find us Astronema", Andros called out.

"Please what do you take me for, an idiot", Astronema smirked, "I have a space station that can scan for ranger signals, didn't take long too find you". She sighed and looked at the ground uncomfortably, "But I'm not here to fight, I just want to talk", she lowered her staff and placed it on the ground, taking a few steps away from it.

"Whatever you want, we're not interested", Cassie replied, her blaster trained on the warlords head.

"Don't dismiss me so easily pink ranger", Astronema began, "before I begin I would like to express my sympathies for your mother's death. Personally I find Reapers to be vile creatures, I don't understand why Dark Specter continues to use them".

"And yet you still fight on his side", TJ growled.

Astronema shrugged, "I'm not here to discuss my allegiances blue ranger, I came to give you this". She opened her hands and a golden box appeared out of thin air. She took a couple of paces towards the rangers and placed it on the ground.

Cautiously Andros stepped forward and examined the box, "Where did you get this?" he asked Astronema.

"Your home planet", she replied, "I'm surprised no one ever found it before". She took a step back before continuing, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back".

"Why are you helping us?" Charlotte stated.

"We want Divatox gone just as much as you do", Astronema replied, "as much as it galls me to admit it, you've got the best chance of killing that vile woman", she didn't say anything further and teleported away in a sparkle of purple and silver lights.

Putting their weapons on the ground, they crouched down next to the red ranger, "So what's in the box?" Carlos asked.

"I think it's some kind of weapon", he replied, "legend has it that a powerful weapon was left behind on KO-35 by Zordon. No one ever found it but apparently Astronema did". He stood up and turned to the blue Turbo ranger, "Can you and Justin take a look at it?" he asked, "I don't trust Astronema".

"Alright I'll see what we can do", Charlotte replied.

Later that evening, the Stewarts were working hard on the box and its contents up in Justin's room. Andros crossed the landing and knocked softly on the door, "Can I come in?" he asked.

"Sure, we're just finishing up", Charlotte replied. She took off her safety goggles and placed them on top of her head, "We've run every test that we can think of and it looks legit".

"So Astronema really did help us?" Andros said in confusion.

"I wouldn't go that far", Justin began, "the contents of this box can only be used once, so make sure it counts".

Andros nodded, "Alright, Divatox has disappeared for now so we'll track her down tomorrow. For now we need to make sure that the Earth shield is ready to be put into place".

"Everything looks good", Charlotte replied, "when we beat Divatox tomorrow then we can put the shield plan into operation in the evening".

Andros raised an eyebrow, "When _we_ beat Divatox?"

Charlotte sat up straight in her chair, "I'm coming with you, Divatox was the enemy of the Turbo Rangers. It only seems right that a Turbo Ranger is there when she's finally defeated".

"Wouldn't try and stop you", Andros smiled, "Ashley says food's ready by the way". The Stewarts nodded and stood up from their chairs, departing to the kitchen.

_Dark Fortress_

In her command chair, Astronema lent back and crossed her legs. This plan of her was working out better than she could've hoped for. Twisting a strand of her now blue hair round her finger, she lost herself in thought. That was until Ecliptor announced his presence on the bridge, "How is you plan progressing Princess?" he asked.

"Very well Ecliptor", she smirked, "in fact I'm confident that by tomorrow, both Divatox and the rangers will be dead".

Ecliptor nodded, "Not that I wish to question you Astronema but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you giving the rangers the MegaTech armour".

She stood up from her chair and patted Ecliptor on the cheek, "You worry too much Ecliptor, you know as well as I do that the armour can only be used once".

"Yes but that blue ranger and her brother are smart", he replied, "they could figure out a way around this".

"They could", she began, "but it won't make a difference. You see the box the MegaTech armour was stored in was a Trojan Horse. I made it myself to spy on the rangers and I now know exactly what they're planning to do". She brought up a map of the Earth and pointed to three locations, "They plan to activate a defence shield that will keep anything from entering the atmosphere but to do that, they need to set up beacons in these locations".

"So when they're weakened after the battle against Divatox, we'll strike them when they're least expecting it", Ecliptor added.

"Sharp as always Ecliptor", Astronema smiled, "now we need to prepare ourselves, tomorrow is going to be a special day". She gave Ecliptor a vicious smirk before retreating towards her room. Assisting the Power Rangers was a risky move but big risks usually brought big rewards. If this gamble paid off, then Dark Specter would reward her handsomely.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	13. ReFuelled (Part 2)

_Chapter 13 – ReFuelled (Part 2)_

_**Previously - **__"So when they're weakened after the battle against Divatox, we'll strike them when they're least expecting it", Ecliptor added. _

"_Sharp as always Ecliptor", Astronema smiled, "now we need to prepare ourselves, tomorrow is going to be a special day". She gave Ecliptor a vicious smirk before retreating towards her room. Assisting the Power Rangers was a risky move but big risks usually brought big rewards. If this gamble paid off, then Dark Specter would reward her handsomely. _

_Stewart Residence_

Around the breakfast table, the rangers plus Justin ate a light breakfast as they discussed the final arrangements for the Earth shield. None of them had gotten much sleep as they waited for Divatox to make another appearance. "So that's the plan", Andros stated as he poured some syrup on his pancakes. He was slowly acclimating to the different foods on Earth, it was a shame that he would be leaving the planet today, "Does anyone have any objections".

Everyone around the table shook their heads, "Is everyone ready to go?" Cassie asked.

Andros nodded, "Aimi, Xander and the others are awaiting our signal", he replied. He was just about to take a bite of his food when his communicator went off, "What is it Alpha?" he said.

"Divatox has been sighted in the park", the robot began, "head over there as soon as you can, I'll get the Megaship ready".

"Looks like the starting gun's been fired", TJ stated, dropping his fork onto his plate.

"Alright little bro, you've got the comms", Charlotte said to Justin, "everyone's waiting for your orders".

Justin gulped and nodded his head, "You can count on me", he crossed the kitchen and gave his sister a hug, "Good luck".

Charlotte smiled and ruffled his hair, "Thanks J, I'll be back as soon as I can". Everyone else waived goodbye to Justin and ran out of the house as quickly as possible.

Picking up a headset from the kitchen counter, Justin walked into the front room and turned on the television, "Teams X-Ray, Yankee and Zulu come in", he said into the headset, "we're in standby mode".

_Angel Grove Park_

Storm Blaster turned off the main road and into the park. As it was still early in the morning there was no one around so Charlotte took the most direct route toward Divatox. The rangers clung on for dear life as the blue Turbo Ranger fought for control on the slippery grass. Spotting the red skinned Divatox in the distance, she slammed on the brakes and put the car into a gentle skid. When Storm Blaster came to a halt, the rangers jumped out as quickly as they could, "Remind me not to let you drive my car", Carlos mumbled to the blue Turbo Ranger.

Walking confidently towards Divatox, they could see that Maligore's powers were more dominant than they were yesterday. Other than the feminine body shape, pretty much every defining feature of the monster now matched Maligore. Standing in a line opposite the former pirate, the rangers almost felt sorry for Divatox, "Bitten off more than you can chew once again?" TJ called out. In response the creature they had christened Malitox last night simply roared.

"At least Divatox could talk yesterday", Ashley sighed, "it's like she's become a wild animal".

"And I had so many witty remarks to fire off as well", Cassie smiled.

Andros stepped forward and glanced over at Charlotte, "I believe it's customary to let the previous team go first".

"Gee thanks", she replied and pulled out her Turbo Key, "Shift into Turbo", she added and slammed the key into her morpher.

"Let's Rocket", Andros added and the park was filled with a bright light. Once it had cleared, the rangers stretched out their limbs and prepared for the fight to come. "Alright you remember the plan, hit Malitox hard and quickly. I don't want to use the MegaTech armour for longer than necessary".

"I think I've got the speed part down", Charlotte began, "let me use Turbo Mode to soften her up before hitting her with the big guns". The Space Rangers nodded and Charlotte called on a Hand Blaster and a Turbo Blade. Storm Blaster had given her Turbo Morpher a power boost so she should be able to use Turbo Mode for the full minute once again.

Activated the special mode, time once again seemed to slow down for the Blue Turbo Ranger. Firing off her blaster with her left hand, she used the blade to try and deflect any fireballs that Malitox threw her way. Once again the blue energy blasts hit the rocky skin of Malitox but this time they had a little more effect. The mutant was still showing signs of damage from Storm Blasters attack yesterday. Where the blasts were hitting damaged skin, it was causing little cracks to appear.

Knowing that her Turbo Mode was nearly up, Charlotte made a final desperate move. Noticing that the only real weak spots on Malitox were the eyes and mouth, Charlotte accelerated and full speed and drove her blade into the mouth of the creature, "That's for corrupting my Dad", she spat. The creature roared in pain as its lizard tongue fell out of its mouth. Malitox still had a powerful bite and it was able to snap the blade in half.

Malitox was so distracted by removing the blade that she failed to notice that the Space Rangers had assembled the Quadro Blaster. The black ranger fired into the weak spot of Malitox, sending the creature flying across the park. Large chunks of rock were left behind and when Malitox sat up, its lower jaw had been blown away. "That's so gross", Ashley retched as a sticky brown liquid poured out of the wound.

"She's still not defeated though", Andros began, "looks like we're going to need the MegaTech armour". The others nodded and their morphers appeared on their wrists. Entering a three digit code, their chest shone brightly as something slowly materialised. Covering their shoulders and torso was a thick golden armour that was its thickest around their chests. Their gloves now had golden metal plates to match their armour.

"Sweet armour guys", Charlotte wheezed from the side.

"Take a rest Charlie", Carlos began, "we'll take it from here". The five rangers jumped into action, with their armour they felt more powerful than ever. Andros got the first blow in on Malitox, rocking the creature. Realising they were also stronger with the MegaTech armour, the rangers were soon raining blows down on the hard skinned Malitox. The creature was staggering around like a punch drunk boxer, walking straight into powerful blows.

"Alright Mega Punch", Andros called. The rangers fist shone a bright golden colour and they punched Malitox in unison. They landed a second blow before charging up the killing shot. A powerful golden wave hit Malitox and threatened to turn her into a pile of pebbles. Unable to take the punishment anymore, Malitox collapsed to the ground.

"That was seriously cool", Cassie cheered, "shame we only get to use it once".

"Yeah I know, maybe we'll think of a way around it", TJ sighed.

"Is she finally gone this time?" Charlotte asked. Almost on cue, Malitox slowly got to her feet but something was different this time. In several places her human skin was showing, giving a strange patchwork appearance. Before the rangers could pass comment, Malitox began to grow.

"Great this is all we need", TJ groaned, "at least we'll get a chance to try out the new Megazord combination".

The rangers turned to the Blue Turbo Ranger, "I guess this is goodbye, for now at least", Ashley said.

Charlotte nodded, "Take care of yourselves", she opened her arms and pulled all of the rangers, even a reluctant Andros into a hug. Carlos hung on for the longest, placed his hands on either side of Charlotte's helmet. After a few moments, she shook him off, "Go, save the galaxy", she sniffed. As the ranger's teleported into the Megazord, she gave them one last wave before teleporting away.

In the cockpit of the Astro Megazord, Andros placed the Battlizer Gauntlet onto the control panel, "Let's see if this works", he began, "initiate Astro Delta Megazord". The Delta Megazord swooped through the sky and before detaching its arms and legs. They wrapped around the limbs of the Astro Megazord, just as the front part of the Delta Megazord attached like armour. The Delta Megazord's gattling guns fixed themselves into place on their shoulders of the Megazord.

"Awesome it worked", Ashley said after checking her systems. They didn't get long to celebrate as Malitox immediately went on the offensive. Keeping the Megazord steady, the former Turbo Rangers noted that Malitox was nowhere near as strong as Maligore had been. Either that or this Megazord was much stronger than the Turbo or Rescue Megazords had been.

Due to the extra armour that had been added, the Astro Delta Megazord wasn't as quick as either of the two component Megazord's. This machine was built for strength and power instead and it showed this by unleashing its Flying Power Punch. The Megazord fist detached and slammed into the rocky arm of Malitox, shattered it with a single blow. Malitox was stunned and gazed down to where its left arm had been.

"Alright once more", Carlos called and fired off the other fist. This one impacted the right shoulder of Malitox, turning it instantly into dust. Its right arm fell off and shattered on impact with the ground below. Deciding it was time to put Malitox out of its misery, the Astro Delta Megazord fired its shoulder mounted gattling guns. The bullets went straight through the skin of Malitox and its body began to lose its structural integrity. A few seconds later it exploded in a shower of rocks and dust. Maligore and Divatox were finally gone.

_Dark Fortress_

Astronema had watched the entire battle and smile to herself when Malitox was finally defeated. Part one of her plan had been a success, now all she had to do was swoop in and attack as the rangers prepared their shields beacons. She was about to instruct the nearest Quantrons to prepare for flight when she saw a couple of specks flash out of the Earth's atmosphere. Seconds after they did this, a golden light covered the Earth before fading back to normal. She checked the nearest console and gasped, the rangers had put the shield in place.

Looking back up at the viewing screen, she noticed that the Astro and Delta Megaships were coming straight at the Dark Fortress. They fired off a burst of laser fire that rocked the space station. Consoles sparked and the crew were thrown about on the bridge. Astronema struggled to get back on her feet, clawing at the nearest console for support. Suddenly the image on the viewing screen changed, it now showed the smiling faces of the Space Rangers, "Surprise Astronema", Carlos beamed, "did you really think you could fool us with that recording device".

"But I don't understand", Astronema fumed, "I heard your entire plan this morning".

"Yes that what we wanted you to think", Cassie replied, using her best 'bay guy' voice, "here's how it really happened".

_Flashback – Breakfast time_

_The rangers were sat at the breakfast table about to tuck into their pancakes, "Are you sure that you've fixed the bug in the MegaTech Armour's crate", Andros asked Justin._

"_Sure have", he replied, "good thing I noticed that last night. Myself and Charlotte recorded a decoy message and fed that into the machine. Now Astronema will think that we're waiting until Malitox has been defeated before putting the beacons into place". _

"_I've fully briefed the teams that are taking our place", Charlotte added, "as soon we leave to fight Divatox, they'll swoop into place". _

_Andros poured some syrup on to his pancakes, "So that's the plan everyone", she confirmed to the other rangers. _

_Flashback – After the rangers left_

"_Alright Teams X-Ray, Yankee and Zulu, we're in standby mode", Justin began, "everyone check in". _

"_Team X-Ray reporting", Xander replied, "Tommy and Kat are with me and ready to go". _

"_Yeah ready when you are Justin", Tommy Oliver added. _

"_Team Yankee ready to go", Aimi called, "Adam and Tanya are good to go as well". _

"_Team Zulu here", Dana Mitchell replied, "you owe me big time for leaving me with Bulk and Skull". _

"_Hey you've got me as well", he heard Rocky DeSantos call out. Justin smiled, it was fortunate that the Zeo Rangers were all available to help out. _

_Flashback – During the Megazord fight_

_Charlotte teleported into Justin's bedroom and immediately removed her helmet, "Geez give me some warning next time", Justin cried out._

"_Sorry Justin", Charlotte replied as she shook her hair back into place, "how's it going?"_

"_All the beacons are in place, we're just waiting to activate them", he replied. The Stewarts smiled as the Astro Delta Megazord finished off Malitox. The Megazord broke apart and immediately converted back into ship mode. Slowly hovering over the remains of Malitox for a few moments, the Astro and Delta Megaship's immediately took off into the sky. _

"_Justin, Charlotte this is Andros, come in", the red ranger called over the radio._

"_Go ahead Andros", Charlotte replied, "good job finishing off Malitox". _

"_Thanks, we've left the atmosphere. Activate the shield". Justin pushed a large red button and the computer told him that the energy shield was now in place. _

"_Alright the shield's in place", Justin said into the radio, "assuming that Dark Specter himself doesn't try to attack it, I'd say it should be good for six months". _

"_Just in time for this Christmas thing I keep hearing about", Andros smiled. "Look after yourselves and don't forget it's up to you and the other rangers to organise the Earth's defences. It wouldn't surprise me if we're back sooner than six months". _

"_Will do Andros", Charlotte replied, "try and come back in one piece". She heard Andros snort before the radio went dead. They watched the screen for a few minutes until the Astro Megaship was out of the range of their tracker. She wiped a stray tear from her face before placing a hand on Justin's shoulder, "I love you guys", she whispered. _

_Present_

"Now I don't know about you but I'd say that scores one for the good guys", Ashley smirked, "oh and don't bother firing on us, we knocked out your weapons systems". The ranger gave one final sarcastic wave before shutting down communications.

Astronema snarled but deep inside, she was also a little impressed, "Well played rangers", she muttered, "finally you've decided to make this interesting". She stood up straight and smoothed out her hair. Kicking a Quantron she snarled, "Well don't just stand there, follow that ship". Firing the Fortress' engines into life, it set off in hot pursuit of the Astro Megaship. The rangers were going to search the galaxy for Zordon, and Astronema was going to do everything in her power to stop them.

_**A/N - **Well that's goodbye to Earth for a while. It'll also bring an end to the "monster of the week" formula as well. Next up our favourite bounty hunter shows his face for the first time..._


	14. Wanted: Dead Or Alive

_Chapter 14 – Wanted: Dead Or Alive_

_June 9 1998 – Astro Megaship_

Life on the Astro Megaship had soon settled into a pattern for the rangers. On the first day Andros showed the Terrans how the main controls and other functions worked. The red ranger had been quietly impressed with their ability to soak up knowledge so on their second day in space, he had divided up all the duties between the five of them. Before they realised it, a week of Earth time had passed. Unfortunately they were still no closer to finding Zordon.

There was one piece of good news, Astronema had seemingly given up her pursuit of the Megaship. They knew that the Princess of Evil wouldn't give up that easily so she must be in the process of planning something big. As it had been a week since their departure, Andros allowed the other rangers use of the long range communicator to call Earth. The four of them huddled around the monitor with the red ranger lurking in the doorway of the bridge. "Hey Charlie", Carlos began, "how are things back on Earth".

"Pretty good", the Blue Turbo ranger yawned, "although did you have to call at 1am".

"Sorry I guess we lost track of the time on Earth", TJ replied, "so tell us everything that's happened since we left".

"Not much really, we're waiting for something to happen", Charlotte began. "Immediately after you left, a group of Quantrons threw everything at the barrier, made of a pretty impressive light show", she smiled. "The Quantrons gave up after a couple of hours, as far as we can tell Astronema has positioned some sentries up on The Moon to keep watch".

"Probably an early warning system", Andros called out from the other side of the bridge, "sorry I didn't mean to eaves drop".

"Andros what are you doing over there", Charlotte said, "you're my friend too, you should be a part of this". The red ranger gave a half smile and joined the others huddled around the screen. "Now where was I", she continued, "we're organising the Earth's defences. Aimi's getting the people at INET whipped into shape and I've called together a Ranger Council of War".

"Look at my girl the little leader", Carlos smiled.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence Carlos but I see myself as an organiser", she replied, "I've asked Jason and Tommy to lead and they've called together all the other former rangers. We've added Bulk and Skull into the mix along with Dana Mitchell. We tried to get her father onboard but he's dropped off the grid completely".

"That's a little weird", Ashley frowned.

"Something to do with a new project he's working on, at least that's what Dana said", Charlotte continued. "Miss Fairweather's disappeared too so I don't think we can count on them too much. Oh and Rocky's managed to get some extra support from Sensei Watanabe at the Wind Ninja Academy, just in case".

"Sweet, we've got ninja's watching our back", TJ smiled.

Charlotte nodded and then yawned, "Sorry to cut this short but I need to sleep. Love you guys, especially you Carlos", the others waved goodbye and turned off the communicator.

"Are you guys alright?" Andros asked.

"Yeah, I mean I'm sad to leave Earth behind but I know we'll be back there someday", Cassie sighed. Andros nodded, the pink ranger was still in mourning for her mother. Some time away from the planet might do her some good right now.

"So what's the plan now Captain Marvellous", Carlos laughed.

"Firstly don't call me that again", Andros began, "our scanners haven't found any trace of Zordon so we need to put some feelers out". He brought up list of planets on the viewing screen, "There are a few planets that Zordon was strongly affiliated to. For obvious reasons we can eliminate Earth and KO-35 so that leaves these three".

"I doubt Dark Specter would keep him on Eltar, Aquitar or Triforia", Ashley replied, "Aquitar has a ranger team that could oppose him for starters".

"And keeping him on his home planet", TJ added, "that would be the first place we would look".

"I've also eliminated Triforia", Alpha said, shuffling on to the bridge, "I've just received word from Prince Trey and they've not detected any Alliance activity in their sector for months".

"So we're back to square one", Carlos threw his hands up in the air.

"Not necessarily", Andros smirked, "when you want to find someone who do you ask first?" The others looked at the red ranger blankly, "The people most likely to have taking them".

"Great so shall we rock up to the Dark Fortress, ring the doorbell and ask Astronema where she's keeping Zordon?" TJ replied sarcastically.

"You're thinking too literally", Andros replied and brought up an image of a planet. From space it looked a little bit like Mars, rocky red terrain with large mountain ranges, "I give you the planet Onyx", Andros continued, "back on KO-35 we liked to call it the black market planet. You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Onyx". Andros paused as the other rangers had started laughing, "I don't see this as a joke", he snapped.

"We're not laughing at the planet", Cassie sniggered, "it's an Earth thing, we'll explain later".

"Obi Wan", TJ spluttered, drawing more laughter from the others.

"Alright", Andros said hesitantly, "as I was saying, there's bound to be someone on Onyx who knows something about Zordon".

Carlos raised a hand, "Aren't they loyal to the Alliance on this planet?"

"The only people they're loyal to is themselves", Andros replied, "if I can push the right buttons, I should be able to get some information out of them".

"Alright you're the boss", TJ began, "so what do you want us to do?"

"You're my back up", the red ranger said, "the people who visit Onyx are extremely jumpy so expect trouble". Seeing there were no further questions, Andros ordered them to set a course for Onyx. Perhaps he could get them to explain why they had all started laughing.

_Onyx_

A few hours later the rangers landed the Astro Megaship on the planet's surface. To ensure complete discretion, they were a fair distance away from civilisation, so they had to complete the rest of the journey by Glider. The main settlement on Onyx looked like the movie set for an old western. There were wooden houses and even a vintage style saloon, complete with swinging doors. In keeping with the old west feel, the only stone based building was the jail.

The rangers snuck into a deserted alley and demorphed. Andros was dressed in a long red velvet cloak that could be pulled out over his head. The others were dressed in tan coloured pants with a hooded sand coloured top. "Does anyone else feel like a Tusken Raider?" Cassie asked the others, itching her side.

"Well you're short enough to be an Ewok so I think that's more fitting", Carlos joked.

"Guys can we cut out the movie reference please", Andros groaned. He was sure that someone muttered, "Yes Master", but he couldn't be sure. "I'll go into the bar and make some enquires", he continued, "if there's any trouble, don't be afraid to start shooting". They nodded and took up their positions around the town.

Pushing the doors to the saloon, Andros stepped inside and paused. Silence descended as everyone stared at the red ranger but after a few seconds they continued with what they had been doing. Deciding to observe everyone for a few minutes, Andros took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. The bartender slid a glass full of a green, smoking liquid down the bar. Andros raised it up to his mouth and pretended to take a sip. He wanted to give off the illusion of someone just wanting to enjoy a quiet drink but without actually getting drunk.

"What do you mean my credits aren't any good", he heard a voice call out from a nearby card table. Turning his head slightly he saw a large orange and black bodied creature. His face was bright red with black patches and he had two rows of small spikes on the top of his head. He knew that face anywhere, it was one of Dark Specter's agents, Darkonda. "You see this datacard", Darkonda waved a luminous green piece of plastic in the air, "this was taken from Zordon of Eltar's personal collection. Don't tell me that's not worth something".

"Zordon", Andros muttered under his breath. Deciding to investigate further, he left his seat at the bar and walked up to the table, "I'll vouch for my esteemed colleague", he said.

"Push off scrawny", Darkonda spat, "I don't need your help".

"I think you do", Andros replied smoothly, "in fact I'll even help meet some of your debts". He reached into his robe and pulled out a bag of silver coins. Throwing them on the table a few spilled out, drawing the attention of the others gathered, "Pure silver all the way from Earth and I have plenty more where they came from". The dealer ran his hands through the bag and nodded, causing Andros to smirk. He had probably just paid off several thousand credits worth of debt with five dollars make up of nickels, dimes and quarters.

"Earth you say", Darkonda's said with interest, "what were you doing on that remote outpost?"

"Same thing you do Darkonda", the red ranger replied, "whatever I need to".

Darkonda muttered something but Andros couldn't understand what he said, "Heard there's a big forcefield around the planet now, how did you get your scrawny ass out of there?"

"You ask a lot of questions Darkonda", Andros stated. He reached down to the table and touched the datacard, "Does this really belong to Zordon?"

"Keep your greasy hands off that", Darkonda snatched it away, "prised it out of that overinflated windbag's tube myself".

Andros wanted to press him for further information but he knew that he needed to tread carefully, "Interesting, I heard that Dark Specter was keeping him in the Dagobah system".

Darkonda chuckled and lent closer to him, "Wouldn't you like to know, red ranger". Andros' blood froze, how did Darkonda discover his identity so quickly? "A small piece of advice, next time you reach down for something try and avoid flashing your morpher". Andros cursed himself for making such a basic mistake, "I've got people outside who will take care of your friends if you make any sudden moves. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to collect the bounty available for taking you down". Darkonda paused to let that sink in, "Tell you what I'm a reasonable guy so why don't you back away and we'll pretend that this conversation never happened".

The red ranger nodded slowly and took a step backwards. Suddenly he heard the sound of blaster fire from outside, "I think my friends can take care of themselves", he stated and kicked over the card table, causing drinks, coins and cards to fly everywhere. One of the other patrons at the table was less than impressed with this and tried to hit Andros with his chair. The red ranger ducked and the blow intended for him hit the back of someone else. Before he knew it, there was a full scale bar room brawl happening.

Using the distraction to his advantage, Andros punched Darkonda in the face, sending the bounty hunter sprawling to the floor. He placed a foot on Darkonda's chest and pointed his Astro Blaster at him, "Tell me where Zordon is?" to his surprise Darkonda laughed, "What is it with people laughing at me today", he yelled, "tell me or I'll shoot".

"If you do that, then you'll never find you sister", Darkonda replied.

For the second time in as many minutes, the red ranger froze in shock, "What do you know about my sister?"

"Let me go and I'll tell you", Darkonda smirked. Before Andros could get any further information out of the bounty hunter, he was showered by broken glass and was knocked to the floor by a flying body. He pushed the person off and saw that it was a morphed Carlos.

"Sorry about that man", Carlos said, "someone knows we're here". The sight of a ranger caused the patrons of the saloon to scramble for the exits. Carlos grabbed hold of Andros and dragged him through the broken window that he had just crashed through, much to the protests of the red ranger.

Darkonda pulled himself off the floor and laughed to himself, however, he soon stopped when he noticed that his datacard was missing. The red ranger must've taken it during the confusion, he thought. He vowed revenge on the red ranger and know the perfect way to do it. He pulled out a small communicator from his body and made a call, "Good day Astronema, my name is Darkonda. I'm a loyal servant of Dark Specter and I wish to offer my services to you".

_Astro Megaship_

Andros sat in the captain's chair and stared vacantly at nothing in particular. He played with the locket around his neck and sighed in frustration. He had been so close to finding not only Zordon but his sister as well. With a little more luck he would've gotten exactly what he wanted out of Darkonda. "I knew we'd find you in here", Carlos called out from the entrance to the bridge. Andros didn't turn around but something told him that Ashley was with him. "I just wanted to apologise for spoiling your interrogation".

"No apology needed Carlos", Andros replied without turning around, "there was no guarantee Darkonda would've told me the truth anyway", he added with a dejected tone.

There was silence for a few moments before Carlos added, "Well TJ is making something to eat, he promises that it's going to be something special".

"I'll be along in a bit", Andros stated. There was no response but he heard footsteps approaching him. He had been right, Ashley was with the black ranger. She perched on a console opposite the red ranger and looked at him for a few moments.

"We're going to find her Andros", she stated, "you said it yourself that Darkonda can't be trusted. He could've been lying just to get you to drop your guard".

"I know Ash", he sighed, "but it's still frustrating".

Ashley smiled, it was the first time he had used the nickname everyone else used, "Alpha and DECA are working on decoding the datacard so perhaps they'll be something to help you find Karone on there". She smiled and grabbed Andros by the hand, "Now TJ's making his famous spaghetti Bolognese, you don't want to miss that".

Reluctantly Andros hauled himself to his feet and followed the yellow ranger towards the galley. They had been so close to getting some useful information about Zordon, hopefully the datacard contained something helpful. If it didn't they had made a dangerous enemy in the form of Darkonda for absolutely nothing.

_**A/N- **Nothing like a good bar room brawl to kick off their first adventure in space. That chapter was essentially crammed full of Star Wars references, like the Earth Rangers I had to get them all out of my system early on..._


	15. Fallen World

_Chapter 15 – Fallen World_

_June 14 1998 – Astro Megaship_

It was just after 8am Earth Time as TJ walked through the corridors of the Megaship towards the girl's quarters. He nervously played with his hands as he approached the door to their room. Drawing his hand back to knock, he paused, trying to think of the best way to start the upcoming conversation. Cassie had seemed distant from the others since they left Earth, not surprising since she only buried her mother a couple of weeks ago. She wasn't eating much at meal times and always volunteered to take the night watch on the bridge. It was only under orders from Andros that she had slept in her bed last night. On her previous watch, he had caught her asleep at a console, much to his annoyance.

TJ was about to knock when the door opened and he stumbled inside. Cassie laughed and finished pulling down her pink uniform top, "Sorry Teej, DECA told me you were waiting outside so I asked her to let you in".

"Thanks for the warning", he snorted before remembering why he was here. He gave his girlfriend a quick glance and noticed that she was thinner than she was a few weeks ago. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was extremely pale.

"Are you alright", Cassie asked, "you're acting weird".

TJ sighed, "Just trying to think of the right words to say", he replied and took her by the hand and sat her down on the edge of the bed, "Cass tell me the truth, how are you?" The pink ranger was about to give a vague answer but TJ stopped her, "And please don't say you're fine unless you truly mean it". Cassie bit her lip and stared at the floor for a couple of moments, "Look Cass we've all noticed something's wrong with you, enough Andros", Cassie snorted with laughter. "If Mr Roboto is noticing something wrong then you must be giving out some bad vibes".

Cassie didn't respond for a moment but gripped TJ's hand a couple of times. She took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm a big ball of emotions right now Teej", she began, "my Mom's gone and she's not coming back. I don't think I realised it until we left Earth". She paused for a moment, "Did I do the right thing, leaving Earth so soon after her funeral, I mean we could've found another pink ranger".

"Only you can really know the answer to that question", TJ responded. "Knowing your Mom I don't think she would've wanted you to give up on doing the right thing because of her". Cassie nodded and a stray tear rolled down her face, "Would it help if you talked about her with us? It would be like keeping her memory alive".

"Yeah I'd like that", Cassie sniffed, "I just don't know what I'm going to do without her". A few more tears fell and TJ pulled her close to him. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, allowing her to cry it out, "Thanks Teej", she wiped her face with her sleeve.

"We're all here for you Cass", TJ smiled, "if you'll allow us to be. We all care about you, even Andros does, in his own weird way".

Cassie laughed, "See you always know how to cheer me up". She placed her right hand on his cheek and gave him a kiss. She placed her forehead against his, "I love you Theodore Johnson", she whispered.

"I love you too Cassandra Chan", he smiled and they kissed again. TJ ran his hands through her hair and pulled her close to him. Cassie let a small moan of pleasure as TJ deepened the kiss. Her hands began to roam all over his body, eventually finding their way underneath his shirt. The pair paused and looked at each other with desire in their eyes. TJ grabbed the bottom of Cassie top and was about to pull it over her head when DECA's voice brought them back from their hormone induced high.

"I don't want to admit it but that's probably for the best", Cassie said breathlessly, "I don't want my first time with you to be when I'm an emotional mess".

TJ nodded in agreement, "Yeah you're right", he then called out to the computer, "you've got our attention DECA".

"Andros would like your presence on the bridge", DECA called out.

"Oh does he", TJ replied, "tell him we'll be along in a second". He found Cassie's uniform jacket in a pile of clothes on the floor and passed it over, "Remember if you ever want to talk about your Mom, we're all here for you".

"Thanks Teej", Cassie smiled and they both left her quarters. After a couple of minutes walking, they found themselves on the bridge and under the scrutiny of their team mates.

"There you two are", Carlos smirked, "we've been calling you for the last five minutes".

"Yeah we got side tracked", Cassie replied.

"We can see", Ashley said, "Cass you're hair's all.." she indicated that it was sticking out at weird angles, much to the pink ranger's embarrassment.

"Moving on", Andros said quickly, "Alpha's decoded Zordon's disk, the only thing on there were co-ordinates for somewhere on Eltar. It's not much to go on but it's worth checking out".

"That's Zordon's home planet isn't it?" TJ asked, "I thought it was abandoned".

"It is", Andros replied, "Eltar fell two years ago around the same time that the Machine Empire arrived near Earth".

"But Zordon didn't leave until after the Empire were beaten", Carlos began, "I spoke with Adam not long after I got my Turbo powers and they didn't get the message about the invasion until last May".

Andros nodded, "It would appear that the Machine Empire used their presence in your sector to prevent any messages from the elders of Eltar reaching Zordon. By the time the Empire were destroyed, the planet had been deserted for months". He leaned over to another console and tapped in the co-ordinates, "I know I said we wouldn't go to Eltar but that was before we got this lead. We don't know if the Alliance has laid any traps on the planet so be prepared for anything". The other rangers nodded and settled in for the ride to Eltar

_Eltar_

A few hours later, the Megaship was in orbit around the planet of Eltar. From above it looked very similar to Earth but there wasn't a huge amount of green spaces or deserts. It looked like the planet was one giant city spreading across the equator of the planet and surrounded by a clear blue ocean. The rangers didn't detect any Alliance presence in orbit, the atmosphere or on the planet but just to be safe, they left the ship in orbit. They also decided not to use the Gliders, just in case there were sensors that could pick up on morphing energy.

On the planet's surface, the rangers walked down what they assumed had once been the main street through this particular part of the city. It was hard to tell as the surface was filled with craters that had been made by laser fire. The buildings that overlooked the street were all damaged beyond repair. Some were burned out shells, others were littered with laser burns. The rangers could see that it had once been a thriving and technologically advanced planet but there was almost nothing left. The stench of death and decay lingered over the city.

"This is dreadful", Ashley gasped, "how could anyone do this to a planet".

"That's the Alliance for you", Andros replied in a matter of fact tone. "If the attack here was anything like the one on KO-35, then it would have been over extremely quickly".

"It looks like Astronema went to town here", Carlos added, "like she had a special hatred of this planet".

"It was the home of Zordon and by extension the Power Rangers", TJ replied, "if, like Andros said, is targeting Rangers then it makes sense to obliterate this planet".

"I thought you said the Eltarian's had advanced technology", Cassie asked the red ranger, "could they not have done something to prevent this?"

"It's true that Eltarian's were an advanced civilisation", Andros began, "but they were also extremely arrogant. They probably didn't believe that anyone could destroy their planet so quickly". He sighed, "I don't think anyone could believe it". He was interrupted by his morpher beeping, "We're nearly here".

Andros led them over a large pile of rubble and into what looked like an apartment building. The ceiling inside the building was extremely high and in the center of the room was a giant tube. "Is this Zordon's home?" TJ asked.

"Looks like it", Andros replied, "I heard that people from across the galaxy would come here to seek his advice". He stepped forward and began to search around the tube. After a few moments he found a hidden compartment. Sliding it open he found another datacard sitting inside.

"I'm getting sick of seeing these things", TJ groaned.

"You might be but we're not", a voice called out, the rangers turned around and came face to face with Ecliptor and Darkonda. "So we meet again red ranger", Darkonda smirked.

"I thought I recognised your stench Darkonda", Andros fired back before turned to Ecliptor, "I thought you had more taste in companions Ecliptor".

"Believe me I'm not working with him by choice", Ecliptor growled.

"Enough talking, I want that disk", Darkonda spat.

"Come off it Dakonda, you couldn't beat Andros when you were by yourself", Carlos taunted, "now all of us are here, the odds really aren't in your favour".

"You know what black ranger, you're absolutely right", Darkonda grabbed Ecliptor by the shoulders and electricity began to crackle between their bodies. Ecliptor roared in pain as Darkonda slowly merged their bodies together. After a few moments Darkonda's smirking face looked over the rangers with a body that was half his own and half Ecliptor.

"Carlos you've got to learn not to taunt the bad guys", Ashley grumbled.

"It doesn't matter what you look like Darkonda, you're still going down", Andros lined up the other rangers and called, "Lets Rocket".

Darkliptor pulled out his own sword and Ecliptor's and charged into battle with the now morphed rangers. Immediately the rangers felt the increased strength of Darkliptor in comparison to their separate bodies. Darkliptor brought his swords down across the rangers in a wide arc, sending sparks flying off their suits.

The girls rolled on their stomachs and summoned their special weapons. A blur of yellow and pink energy flew at Darkliptor but the creature was able to deflect the energy away with his swords. He responded by firing a burst of electricity from his eyes, propelling the girls into the opposite wall.

Carlos quickly jumped in with a strong swing of his Lunar Lance and cut the creature across the abdomen. Darkliptor weathered another couple of strong blows from the black ranger before kicking him in the chest. Twirling Darkonda's sword in his hand, he jabbed Carlos in the legs almost playfully. Darkliptor was like a cat playing with a mouse but he soon grew tired of this game. With Ecliptor's sword he slashed Carlos horizontally across the chest, knocking him into the base of Zordon's energy tube.

Darkliptor loomed menacingly over the black ranger but he was saved by Andros and TJ. The creature cried out in pain as TJ's Astro Axe cut into his upper arm. At the same time, Andros rammed his Spiral Saber into the ribs of the creature. Darkliptor responded by grabbed the red and blue rangers by the helmet and slamming their heads together. He then kicked the pair away, which sent them crashing into the fallen bodies of their team mates, "Man this guy packs a punch", TJ groaned.

"We're not beaten yet", Andros called out to the other and put his Spiral Saber into Booster Mode. The others assembled the Quadro Blaster and prepared to fire. They were standing directly in front of the disused energy tube with Darkliptor near the entrance to the building. The rangers fired their weapons but to their shock, Darkliptor managed to block the attack. The creature then crossed his swords together and sent out a beam of yellow energy that lifted the rangers into the air. Pulses of electricity shocked the rangers, draining their energy. When Darkliptor was satisfied that he had punished them enough, he propelled them through the abandoned energy tube. Glass rained down on the marble floor and he five rangers went crashing into the far wall. The force of the blow caused them to demorph.

"Give up rangers I'm too powerful for you to handle", Darkliptor taunted.

Andros felt in his pocket and made sure that the datacard was still there. Slowly he brought his morpher up to his mouth, "Alpha lock onto our signal and fire all weapons", he croaked. Darkliptor was about to attack again when the rangers disappeared in a flash of light. Seconds later the building was rocked by a series of powerful explosions.

Darkliptor barely had time to reach the door before the entire building collapsed under a hail of laser fire. He dusted himself off and roared in frustration, the rangers had gotten away with Zordon's datacard again.

_Astro Megaship_

Alpha had immediately teleported the rangers into sick bay and assessed them for any serious damage. Fortunately there was nothing that a good rest wouldn't cure. All the rangers had sustained superficial cuts on their bodies but Alpha had done a great job patching them up. An hour after the fateful meeting with Darkliptor, the group gathered on the bridge to see the contents of the datacard. "The encryption code on this datacard was the same as the other one", Alpha began, "there's a video message stored on this card, I'm playing it now".

On the main viewing screen an image of Zordon suddenly appeared, "Greetings rangers, if you are seeing this message then unfortunately I have been captured by Dark Specter", Zordon's voice boomed. "Do not worry about me too much, I am much tougher than I appear", he added. "The datacard you have in your hands will enable you to access the original Space Ranger zords called the Mega Voyagers. The zords are under the protection of team of rangers not from Earth, however, for their safety, they are unaware of what they are guarding". There was a brief pause before Zordon added, "Good luck my friends, we will see each other again soon and remember, may the power protect you".

The message stopped and everyone looked at each other, "Another Megazord", Cassie began, "we're running out of space to keep them".

"It's fortunate that the Delta Megazord can follow us in ship mode", TJ added.

"Another ranger team", Ashley began, "that must mean the Aquitian's right".

Andros nodded, "Must be, I'm the only ranger from KO-35 so Zordon wouldn't have hidden the Mega Voyager there. The only other planet with rangers is Aquitar", he paused and called out, "DECA set course for Aquitar, maximum hyper rush".

"Course set", DECA replied, "we will arrive in orbit in two Earth Days".

"That means we have two days to rest and train", Carlos began, "I don't want to get beaten by Darkliptor again". The others nodded and left the bridge, they could only hope that Darkliptor didn't have the same idea and beat them to Aquitar.


	16. Breakout

_Chapter 16 – Breakout_

_June 16 1998 – Aquitar_

After two days of travelling, the rangers hoped for a warm welcome from the people of Aquitar. Unfortunately when they arrived in orbit, they saw a fierce fire fight taking place in the planet's atmosphere and on the surface below. Astronema and Darkliptor had guessed where the rangers were heading and beat them to the planet.

"Cassie, fire the starboard Mega Lasers", Andros called out from the command position. He manoeuvred the Megaship between two rows of fighters, giving the pink ranger a clear shot. The lasers tore through the flimsy crafts, sending them crashing into the waters below. Banking left the Megaship destroyed the next wave of fighters that were descending from above. The Velocifighters kept coming, another four were moving in behind the ship. Andros dipped the nose of his vessel down towards the vast ocean in what appeared to be a suicide dive. The fighters fired their lasers cannons but they were repelled by the rear shields of the Megaship.

"Andros whatever you're planning you'd better do it quickly", Carlos cried as he clung onto his console. At the last possible moment, Andros pitched the Megaship upwards. The Velocifighters didn't react to this in time and they slammed into the water.

"We need to find the Aquitian Rangers", Andros stated and began to look over the viewing screen.

Ashley suddenly jumped up from her seat, "Look there they are", she pointed towards a white and a red suited figure surrounded by a small fleet of Quantrons.

"They won't hold out forever", Andros slammed his hands down on to his console and ran off the bridge, "DECA engage combat protocol 3", he added. The others struggled to keep up with the red ranger and he had already departed through his jump tube.

The rangers skimmed across the surface of the water until they came across a small rocky island in the middle of the ocean. There were few buildings on the island but the Aquitians were fighting with everything they had to protect them. A first glance there didn't appear to be any civilians on the surface which was fortunate for them.

Swooping just about the heads of the assembled Quantrons, the rangers blasted several of them to pieces with their Astro Blasters. The two Aquitian rangers were shocked initially but then relieved for the assistance. Jumping off his board, Andros landed gracefully next to the White Aquitian Ranger, "Hello again Delphine", he began, "it's been a while".

"Andros is that you?" Delphine replied whilst simultaneously stabbing a Quantron in the chest with her sword, "I see you managed to complete you team".

"Yeah that's a long story", Andros chuckled, "where are Cestro, Corcus and Tideus?" Andros fired a round from his blaster straight through the head of a Quantron.

"They are on the other side of the planet", she replied, "Dark Specter launched a two pronged assault on the surface transport outposts". Aquitians were water based beings but even they would occasionally need to take on oxygen. If Dark Specter prevented them from surfacing, the entire population would be dead within a couple of weeks.

The other rangers went to the aid of the Red Aquitian Ranger, Aurico, who appeared to be fading fast. Swinging his lance in a wild circle, Carlos sliced through three Quantrons immediately. TJ followed up by hacking through the arms of another two robots. Cassie provided covering fire for Ashley as she checked on Aurico, "Hey there, how are you doing?" she asked.

"I have been better", he replied, "nothing a few hours rehydrating will not cure". Ashley pushed the red alien ranger to the ground as a Quantron was sneaking up on them. Reaching for her blaster, she shot a hole straight through the chest of the robot. "Thank you", Aurico nodded, "I feel that I must return the favour". Slowly getting to his feet, Aurico held his hand out in front of him. Suddenly a strong jet of water from the nearby ocean swept the remaining robots out to sea. Aurico swayed on his feet and slowly fell to the ground.

"Aurico!" Delphine cried and knelt down next to her team mate, "you know you should only use that technique in a life or death situation".

"Desperate times", he choked out.

"Will he be alright?" Cassie asked the white ranger.

"He will need to rest for a while", she replied, "but otherwise he will make a full recovery". She gently caressed the side of Aurico's helmet before standing up and addressing Andros, "Thank you for your assistance, I assume this visit of yours is not a social call".

"Always the sharp one", Andros replied, "we found a message from Zordon on Eltar a couple of days ago, are you keeping watch on something for him?"

Delphine nodded, "Yes, is that what Dark Specter is looking for?" Andros nodded, "I feared as much, fortunately it is not being stored on the planet itself?"

"So where is it?" TJ asked.

The white ranger pointed up at a nearby moon, "That moon is completely deserted and has been for centuries. Legend has it that Zordon and his allies stored something very powerful up there for safe keeping".

"That must be what we're looking for", Carlos whispered to the red ranger.

Andros nodded in acknowledgement, "Thank you Delphine", he then turned to the others, "we'd better get up there as quickly as possible". Leaving the white ranger behind, the Space Rangers jumped onto their Galaxy Gliders and hurried up towards the nearby moon.

_The Moon of Aquitar_

The surface of the Moon was very similar to Earth's Moon, dull, grey and covered in craters. Delphine wasn't kidding when she said that the moon had been uninhabited for centuries, there were no signs of life at all. After nearly an hour of fruitless searching, the rangers finally spotted something dug into the rocky surface. There were four metal doors lined up in the shape of a square carved into the moon itself. There was a final metal door sitting in the middle of the square. Jumping off their boards, the rangers looked around for an entrance, "There must be some kind of door around here somewhere", TJ stated.

"Knowing Zordon it won't be obvious", Andros replied.

They spent a few minutes searching until Cassie called out, "Hey guys over here". The rangers rushed over to the pink ranger, "This must be a clue, right", carved into a nearby cave was the Space Rangers symbol.

"Good job Cassie", Andros congratulated the pink ranger.

"Not so fast rangers", that voice could only mean the arrival of one creature, Darkliptor.

"I knew I smelt something funny around here", Carlos called out.

"Cute", Darkliptor spat before pointing at the red ranger, "I'll take that datacard now".

With a careful sleight of hand, Andros passed the card down through the assembled rangers, "What datacard", the red ranger showed that his hands were empty.

Darkliptor pulled out his swords, "Don't mess with me rangers", he bellowed.

"Alright Darkliptor, you've got us", TJ sighed, "we'll come along quietly".

The monster lowered his swords slightly, "Really?"

Suddenly a panel appeared in the rocky cliff face, surprising the monster and rangers alike, "Nope", Cassie cheekily called out and fired her Satellite Stunner. The blows rocked Darkliptor backwards slightly, giving the rangers enough time to sneak inside. The panel closed behind them, much to the frustration of Darkliptor.

"That won't hold him forever", Carlos stated as he heard heavy banging coming from outside. The ranger left the door behind and moved down a narrow metal staircase. They eventually reached a door that needed the datacard to gain access.

Just as Cassie buzzed them in, they all heard an explosion coming from the top of the stairs, "Quickly he's on his way", Andros called out and ushered the rangers through the door. Slamming the metal door behind him, he blew out the electronic lock with his blaster and pushed a heavy metal cabinet in front of it. Inside the room were five chairs that were positioned into the same arrangement as the doors outside. In front of the middle chair was a podium with another datacard slot. "Everyone find your seat and strap yourselves in", Andros added. He took his seat in the middle chair and inserted the datacard.

After a few seconds, the chairs suddenly dropped into the ground and shot the rangers through a series of narrow tubes. After what felt like an eternity, they emerged into a large hangar with five different vehicles. All of them where primarily white but each of them had a different coloured shade, indicating which ranger it belonged to. There was a red humanoid zord in the shape of a space suit, a black space shuttle, a blue rocket, a yellow flying saucer and finally a pink lunar rover. "These new zords look amazing", Ashley whistled as they all rushed overhead. The tubes directed them downwards and towards their zords, depositing them inside their own individual cockpits.

Andros pushed a few buttons in his zord, "Alright, better check the systems are fully operational before commencing the countdown", he called out through the radio. Just then the whole ground began to shake, Darkliptor had run out of patience and was starting to grow whilst still inside the hanger.

"Erm 3,2,1, blast off", Carlos stated and hit the launch button his zord, quickly followed by the others. The hangar doors opened and the rangers were propelled back out on to the Moon, narrowly avoiding a swing of Darkliptor's sword.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to bring them together", Andros activated Voyager mode and slowly the machines broke apart and began to come together. Mega V1 formed the thighs and upper torso, Mega V2 the head, Mega V3 the legs and upper torso, Mega V4 the arms and chestplate and Mega V5 the feet. The Mega Voyager landed on the ground opposite Darkliptor, ready for battle.

The monster didn't give the ranger's time to admire their new craft as he immediately went on the attack. He raked Darkonda's sword across the Voyager's chest but it didn't have much effect. He tried to do the same with Ecliptor's sword but the Voyager pulled out a shield made from Mega V2 and blocked the attack. The mecha drove the shield straight into the head of Darkliptor, knocking the creature away.

Darkliptor though wasn't done, he crossed his two swords together and fired a stream of lightning at the Voyager. The shield deflected most of the lightning but some still hit the craft. The rangers were thrown around in their seats but the Voyager didn't fall, "Mind the paintwork", TJ called out, "you'll void the warranty".

"Megazord's on Earth come with a warranty?" Andros asked the others.

There was silence for a few moments before Carlos replied, "That was a joke Andros", he laughed. The black ranger then saw a button directly in front of him, "I wonder what this does?" The Mega Voyager unleashed a volley of powerful lasers at Darkliptor, tearing into his outer skin. The rangers paused as the creatures body began to crackle with lightning. In a flash of light Ecliptor and Darkonda became to separate entities again.

"Quickly fire on Darkonda whilst he's stunned", Andros called out. The Voyager engaged Missile Mode and the bulk of Mega V3 appeared in its right hand. Firing a powerful blast at the bounty hunter, he barely had time to react before he was struck. He fell to the ground and exploded in a shower of sparks. Whilst this was happening, Ecliptor had shrunk back down to his normal size.

"What should we do about Ecliptor?" Ashley asked the red ranger.

Andros paused for a moment, "Leave him, I think having to share a body with Darkonda for the last few days is punishment enough".

"Plus we need to help the Aquitians", Cassie added. The Mega Voyager took off in the direction of the planet in the distance.

On the surface of the Moon, Ecliptor slowly picked himself up and watched the rangers retreating back to Aquitar. "Those rangers are far too noble for my liking", he heard Astronema call out from behind him.

"As much as I hate to admit it, they did show great honour by not stepping on me", he sighed. "You know that Darkonda isn't really gone".

"Oh I know about his extra lives", Astronema smiled, "I just wish I knew how many he had left". She took a couple of paces forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Ecliptor, "Recall the fleet from Aquitar, call it my thank you to the rangers for not destroying you".

"Dark Specter won't be happy with that decision", Ecliptor replied.

Astronema shook her head, "He's never happy these days. I'll spin it so this failure looks like Darkonda's fault and that I'm retreating to work on my new plan". Ecliptor nodded and in a flash of light, they teleported away from the Moon's surface.

_Aquitar_

When the rangers landed the Mega Voyager on the planet's surface, they were surprised to see that Astronema's fleet was retreating. They briefly thought about following but decided that attending to the citizens of Aquitar was their priority. As the attack was mostly above the surface of the water, few of the planets buildings were damaged. All of the Aquitian Rangers had avoided serious injury during the defence of their planet. Other than being mildly dehydrated, they were in perfect health.

As a token of appreciation, Delphine had offered the rangers a place of stay on Aquitar for a few days. They graciously accepted the offer as it would allow them to rest up and restock the Astro Megaship. After everyone had rested up and changed into a fresh uniform, the Space Rangers joined the Aquitian Rangers for a feast in honour of their victory.

At the far end of the table TJ, Corcus, Carlos and Tideus were whispering quietly to each other before bursting out into laughter. No one else could hear their conversation but it was probably a joke or two at their respective team leader's expense. In the middle of the table, Cassie and Ashley were learning about Aquitian culture from Cestro and Aurico. Finally at the head of the table Delphine and Andros were sat next to each other. They had met each other a few times prior to the invasion of KO-35 and had always gotten on extremely well, "You have an interesting team Andros", the white ranger began, "such a wide range of personalities on Earth".

"I remember hearing about your visit to the planet", Andros replied, recalling their defeat of Hydro Hog two and a half years ago. "I'll admit I didn't enjoy the planet much myself initially but it began to grow on me". Andros took a quick from the glass beside him, "Thank you for equipping the Mega Voyager and Delta Megaship with pocket dimension technology. It would be inconvenient to drag those around with us".

Delphine nodded, "Still no word from the Karovian Government in Exile?"

Andros shook his head, "It's most unlike them, even when I was travelling by myself I would still hear from them even couple of weeks".

"So you still don't have an owner for-" Delphine began.

"No", Andros cut across her, "and the others don't know about that yet".

There was a frown of frustration from the leader of the Aquitian Rangers but she decided not to interfere in the running of someone else's team. "So after you leave Aquitar where are you off to next?"

Andros sighed, "I don't know, we've followed up all the leads we had on Zordon. I guess we go back to searching the galaxy region by region". Deciding that was enough shop talk for one day, the pair slipped into more casual conversation but that thought was still bugging Andros. The leads they had followed had led them to the Mega Voyager but now they were back to square one. The next couple of weeks looked like it would be a hard slog for the Space Rangers.

_**A/N - **That's the Mega Voyager arc done, the next 6/7 chapters will see a shift from canon. I've had them in mind ever since I started planning this series in the summer of 2013. Hope you all enjoy and thank you for the continuing support. _


	17. Whiplash

_Chapter 17 – Whiplash_

_June 25 1998 – Astro Megaship_

After recuperating for a couple of days on Aquitar, the rangers had returned to their search for Zordon. Without any leads they had to resort to pouring over star charts and conducting manual scans across vast regions of space. The hours of fruitless searching were beginning to take their toll on the rangers. They were spending their shifts either arguing over silly little things or sitting in an uncomfortable silence.

To try and boost morale, TJ, Cassie and Carlos had persuaded Andros to let them pause the search for a day and celebrate Ashley's eighteenth birthday. They helped their cause by explaining that the red ranger could take Ashley exploring on the nearby planet as a birthday treat. It took a couple of attempts to explain the hidden meaning behind them going alone but he finally got the message.

After saying goodbye to Andros and Ashley, the others began to decorate the galley for the yellow ranger's birthday meal later than evening. Deciding to forego the Synthatron for the occasion meant they would be cooking everything from scratch. It took a few minutes to work out how to use the cooker in the galley. When asked, Andros shrugged and said that he had never used it before, drawing a grumble of discontent from Cassie about men. The pink ranger had appointed herself party organiser, delegating decorating to Carlos and food preparation to TJ. "Alright Carlos that looks good", Cassie said.

"That's what you said five minutes ago", Carlos muttered under his breath, fortunately Cassie didn't hear him. "Where did you find these decorations anyway?"

"DECA said they were stored in the cargo hold", Cassie replied, "apparently one of the proposed Space Rangers would have celebrated his birthday whilst on board so the others stored these to celebrate".

"You sure Andros won't mind us using them?" TJ called out with his head inside a cupboard.

Cassie shook her head, "According to DECA he didn't know they were there, so we can just say we packed them knowing Ash's birthday was coming up".

"Sometimes your deviousness amazes us", Carlos deadpanned, earning a smack around the head courtesy of a blown up balloon.

The teens continued setting up for another hour until their preparations were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Initially they thought it was Alpha but they were surprised to see Ashley standing in the entrance, "Ash what are you doing back so soon", Carlos exclaimed.

"Oh I wasn't feeling well so Andros brought us back", she replied. She kept looking aimlessly around the room, almost like she was searching for something.

"Well I guess your birthday surprise is ruined now", Cassie pouted.

Ashley didn't respond for a few moments and kept looking around, "My birthday?" she asked quizzically, "My birthday, of course how could I forget".

TJ frowned, "Are you alright Ash".

"Yeah just feeling a little confused", she sighed, "one of the symptoms of my illness I think".

"Well perhaps we should sent you off to bed", Cassie began, "I think we've got something in here that'll help you sleep". Without realising it all three rangers had turned their backs to the yellow ranger. Suddenly their bodies were struck by a massive electrical discharge. Their nerve endings felt like they were going to explode as they were racked with wave after wave of pain. Eventually they couldn't take it anymore and they slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

The source of the energy discharge was the yellow ranger. With a vicious smirk on her face, she lowered the staff that was in her hand, "That's three down", she cackled, "now for the red ranger". She turned on her hell and walked briskly out of the galley, leaving her unconscious friends behind.

_Uncharted Jungle Planet_

She blinked a few times to try and clear her vision. Her eyes were dry and she had a massive headache. After regaining most of her senses, she realised that she was tied up to a tree in the middle of a dense jungle. It took a few minutes but Ashley began to recall the events that must have led her to this position.

The yellow ranger had been on an exploration mission with Andros. She used that term loosely as the red ranger was trying his best to impress her. It was sweet of him, trying to disguise a date as an important mission but she played along with it for a while. The jungle planet was largely uncharted and Andros was hesitant to make any contact with the locals. They still lived in wooden houses and slept in trees, the ideas of space travel could scare and possibly anger them. The rainforest seemed to stretch all across the planet's surface and Ashley was stunned by the spectacular views that this world offered.

After pausing for lunch, Andros gave her a present. It was a necklace with a stone that came directly from his home planet. Ashley loved it and had to fight back tears of happiness. Andros placed it around her neck and his touch lingered there for a few moments. As always luck seemed to be against them and their moment was once again ruined by a rustling from the undergrowth. Despite her protests Andros went to investigate and it was then that she was ambushed by Astronema and a fleet of Quantrons. One of them had hit her on the back of the head, dropping her immediately to the floor. The last thing she remembered was the Princess of Evil ripping her morpher off her wrist and changing her appearance to look like her.

"Some birthday this is", Ashley grumbled, "tied to a tree, surrounded by killer robots whilst a psychopath has my friends at her mercy". She struggled against her bonds but they were tied far too tight for her to escape.

Ashley was about to give up hope when she saw a shadowy figure peeking out from behind a nearby tree. She looked a little closer and saw a young woman around the same age as herself. She had wild long brown hair and a leathery dress that had been stitched together from various different pieces of material. The girl looked Ashley directly in the eyes with confusion, "Go, get out of here", Ashley called out as loud as she dared to the stranger, "it's not safe here". The girl seemed to understand her warning and quickly retreated.

A few minutes later Ashley was beginning to wonder if she had done the right thing. The girl had clearly wanted to help her but she had sent her away, probably scared for her life. The last thing she wanted was for her to go back to her village to form a rescue party and endanger anyone else. Her attention was brought back to the present by the sound of loud thud echoing throughout the forest floor followed very quickly by another. The sound grabbed the interest of the Quantrons and they began to look around. From out of nowhere they were pelted by several large branches and logs that seemed to fall randomly out of the trees.

Deciding that the source of the disturbance was a bit further into the forest the robot scattered, leaving Ashley unattended. Almost instantly Ashley's hands were freed from their bonds. She turned around and came face to face with the same girl from a few minutes ago. She held a small dagger in her hands that had been used to cut through the ropes, "Quickly come with me", the girl grabbed her arm and began running from through the forest.

"Thanks for saving me", Ashley began, "did you set up all those traps".

"They're our defence system", the girl replied, "you're not from around here are you?"

"Not even close", Ashley sighed, "I've got a vessel waiting for me but my friends are in danger. I don't want to put you in any more danger than necessary".

"Don't worry about me, I'll help you as much as I can", Ashley nodded at the girl, knowing instantly that she believed her, almost like she shared a bond with girl. She only hoped that her friends were alright up on the Megaship.

_Astro Megaship_

In orbit above the planet, the disguised Astronema moved cautiously through the corridors of the Megaship. Even though she knew that no one would know who she really was, she still didn't want to take too many chances. She had a close call with that annoying robot the rangers kept around but fortunately she managed to keep up her illusion for long enough to fool him. The same couldn't be said for the ships computer, she had been forced to overload its speech program with her magic, otherwise it would've alerted the red ranger.

After nearly half an hour of aimless wondering, Astronema was getting annoyed. She couldn't find the red ranger anywhere. She stopped at a door in the living area marked with the name 'Andros'. "The personal quarters of the red ranger", she said to herself, "I know it's poor form to fry someone in their sleep but needs must".

She opened the door and much to her disappointment, Andros wasn't inside. The room was neat and tidy but then again, she wouldn't expect anything less from him. There were very few personal belongings in the room so she was about to leave when something caught her eye on a nearby desk. Sitting on the chair, she picked up a picture frame and then almost immediately dropped it. Jumping up from the chair she ran out of the room and locked the door. She leant against the wall with her hand over her mouth, taking several deep breaths to try and keep herself calm.

"There you are", she heard Andros call out, "you should be in bed Ash you really don't look well".

She looked the red ranger up and down for a few moments, still in a state of shock. She recalled one of Ecliptor's lessons in emotional training and slowly calmed herself, "I'm fine Andros", she began, "I'm just upset that I left something behind in the planet's surface. In fact I'm going to get it now". She took off at a sprint down the corridors with Andros close behind. Returning to the galley, praising herself for returning to move the bodies of the other rangers out the way, she practically dived into one of the jump tubes. Andros slid to a halt on the floor and shook his head, something had definitely spooked her. Deciding to follow her, he leapt into a tube and was catapulted to the surface.

_Jungle Planet_

When Andros caught up with Ashley, she was marching toward the forest with her arms folded across her body, "Ash wait up", he called out.

"Stay away from me red ranger", the still disguised Astronema spat back.

Andros paused in his stride, Ashley had never called him that before. He was about to carry on walking when he saw another Ashley emerge from the jungle with one of the locals. He did a double take, how could there be two of them. "I guess the game's up", the fake Ashley sighed and turned back into Astronema. The real Ashley let go of the girl and stood next to Andros, "Please, I don't want to fight you", the ranger frowned, it almost sounded like Astronema was pleading with them. She pulled a small vial out of her sleeve, "This will help your friends recover", she placed it on the floor.

"What did you do to them?" Ashley cried out.

"Nothing life threatening", Astronema responded, "you'll find them in the cargo bay". She looked at the morpher on her wrist for a few seconds before unfastening the strap. She placed it on the floor next to the vial and teleported away without saying another word.

Andros ran over to the items on the ground and picked them up. He tucked the vial into his pocket and handed Ashley's morpher back to her, "We need to hurry", he stated.

Ashley nodded and muttered a quick thank you to the girl, she had saved her life but she never asked her name. The girl watched in awe as the two rangers teleported away, "Maya", she heard a voice called out, "are you out here?"

"Yeah I'll be there in a second", Maya replied. She looked up to the sky once more before walking away. She decided to keep this to herself, no one on Mirinoi would believe her anyway.

_Astro Megaship_

A few hours later Andros was on the bridge studying the latest reports, hoping to find a lead on the Dark Fortress. They had found the other rangers just where Astronema said they would be and immediately transported them to the sick bay. They didn't have any serious injuries but whatever Astronema had used on them had caused them a significant amount of pain. The vial that she had given them was completely harmless and it was designed to relieve some of their symptoms. What Andros couldn't understand was why Astronema would carry around an old healing remedy from KO-35.

"Hey", Ashley announced her presence, "thought I'd let you know the others will be fine. They just need to take it easy for the next 24 hours".

"That's good", Andros replied, "sorry that your birthday was ruined".

"It wasn't that bad, up until the point Astronema knocked me out", Ashley smiled. "Plus it's still my birthday for the next seven minutes", she walked a little closer to Andros, "and as the birthday girl, I get one wish". There was now no distance between them, Ashley moved towards the red ranger and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Their touch lingered for a few seconds before Ashley pulled away, "Oh look, it came true", she smiled and caressed Andros on the cheek. She turned around and left the bridge, leaving Andros clinging onto a nearby console to prevent his legs from giving way.

_Dark Fortress_

After returning from Mirinoi, Astronema had marched straight into her quarters and barricaded the door. She ignored every single summons from her crew and even a couple from Ecliptor. She had been lying on her bed for last few hours with hundreds of thoughts flashing through her head. Absentmindedly she periodically touched the locket that rested on her chest, she didn't have enough courage to open it up and look inside.

Deciding that she couldn't take it any longer, she stood up and took a seat at her vanity table. She looked in the mirror and lightly touched her face. Her makeup had run meaning that she had cried without realising it. She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried. Taking a deep breath she opened up the locket and her worse fears were confirmed. The picture inside was the same as the one that had been sitting on the red rangers desk on the Megaship.

At first she wanted to dismiss it as a trick by the rangers but even they wouldn't keep a picture lying around on their ship just in case she happened to show up. Looking at the young girl in the picture, she changed her hair to match the style. Using a cloth to wipe away her make-up, she took another look in the mirror. There was no mistaking it, she was the girl in the picture. If she was honest with herself, she had been feeling a little strange around the red ranger for the last few weeks, like there was something familiar about him. She had been experiencing some weird dreams relating to the time before she had been introduced to Dark Specter. After seeing the picture in the red ranger's quarters, all the dreams suddenly made sense. It was like she had suddenly woken up from a very bad dream.

She had been told that the young boy was her brother that had been killed during a reckless attack by the Power Rangers. When Andros became the new red ranger of KO-35, she noted that his hairstyle was the same as her supposedly deceased brother. Seeing this as a personal insult to her, she had persuaded Dark Specter to launch a full invasion of the planet. Even after two years of not seeing anyone else with the same two tones hair, she never linked the two together. But now the answer was right there, her brother was alive and he was the red ranger.

_**A/N - **The big reveal then as Astronema gets the shock of her life. Her change of heart might come across as a little sudden but I think her discovery brought down a wall that was surrounding a bunch of repressed memories (along with a wave of guilt about her past actions). In her confusion, the only thing she could think to do was run away. Almost lost amongst this emotional turmoil is a cameo appearance by a future ranger..._


	18. My Friend Of Misery

_Chapter 18 –My Friend Of Misery_

_July 10 1998 – Astro Megaship_

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing for Andros to report to his fellow Space Rangers and there hadn't been for the last few days. Zordon's trail had gone stone cold and they had no fresh leads to work on. Even stranger they hadn't heard anything from Astronema or any of her forces since that day on Mirinoi and that was nearly three weeks ago. "There must be something we can do", TJ grumbled, "we can't keep moving around aimlessly in space forever".

"You knew what this mission would involve when you signed up", Andros spat back.

"Guys can we not have this argument again", Carlos physically stepped between the red and blue rangers. Even amongst the best of friends, tensions could still run high when trapped with them for several weeks in a row.

"We need to take a break", Ashley suggested, "stretch our legs for a little bit". Andros glared at her, "Just for a few hours", she threw her hands up.

"I think what Ashley's trying to say is that we're all sick of looking at the same walls and the same faces", Cassie added, "no offence guys".

TJ sighed, "Cassie's right, it is feeling a little claustrophobic". The blue ranger looked at the viewing screen and saw a planet not too far away. From space it looked a lot like Earth, blue oceans, vast continents and sandy deserts, "How about we stop off on that planet for a bit, get some fresh air?"

Andros looked at the planet and he immediately froze. He had been so focused on finding Zordon that he hadn't realised exactly where in the galaxy he was, "I don't think we'll find much on that planet", he stated.

"How'd you that?" Cassie asked.

"Because that's KO-35", he sighed.

The others looked at each other and didn't know what to say to the red ranger. Eventually they pushed Ashley towards him, she was their best hope of getting him to open up, "Perhaps it would be good to visit the place", she suggested, "might give you some closure".

"The only closure I'll get is when Dark Specter is gone", he snapped. He paused and took a deep breath, the old version of him was coming to the fore again, "I'm sorry I just don't think it's a good idea. Astronema razed the planet to the ground, I don't even know if the atmosphere is breathable anymore".

"According to DECA it is", Carlos stated, tapping away on the computer, "CO2 is a little higher than before the invasion but nothing dangerous. Atmosphere is cloudy but sunlight is still getting through", another reading came up but Carlos paused before reading it out.

TJ frowned, "What is it?"

"According to this, there's a human life sign on the planet", the black ranger responded.

"Impossible", Andros nudged him out the way to check for himself but sure enough, DECA confirmed there was someone down on the planet. Several thoughts were running through his head, chiefly that it was another trap set by Astronema but she wasn't that stupid, she wouldn't try and trick him the same way twice. A more terrifying thought was that someone had been left behind when the planet was evacuated and they had been living on that shattered world alone for over two years.

"What are we going to do?" Cassie asked.

Everyone was silent for a few moments until Andros spoke up, "We need to investigate, someone could really need our help". The others nodded and left their positions on the bridge but Ashley stayed behind, "I'll be fine Ash", he said to the yellow ranger, "as you said perhaps I need this closure. Just do one thing for me".

"Anything", she replied.

"Stay close to me", he whispered. Ashley nodded and gave Andros' hand a reassuring squeeze.

_KO-35_

When the rangers arrived on the planet's surface, they were in for a terrible shock. Andros told them that they would be arriving in the planet's capital city. They were expecting something similar to Eltar, an abandoned metropolis showing the signs of battle. They weren't expecting there to be absolutely nothing left. There were no buildings, no rubble and not even a single blade of grass. They just assumed Andros was exaggerating slightly when he said Astronema wiped out the planet. It was like an image they saw in history class of Hiroshima and Nagasaki immediately after the atomic bombs were dropped, everything larger than a tiny stone had simply been disintegrated.

"The life sign is coming from this direction", Andros stated and moved his Glider slowly in that direction. After moving away from what they assumed was the epicentre of a massive explosion, they slowly began to see signs that there had been a civilisation here. They hovered over an old road that had been completely covered with fallen debris. Looking up into the sky the sun was trying to poke through some heavy clouds, giving the sky and ominous red glow. Everything was in ruins so the rangers couldn't understand how anyone could be living on this planet.

After a few miles they reached what Andros described as the suburbs of the capital. He paused in front of a building and took some readings again. The atmosphere was breathable and the background radiation was safe, but not for an extended period of time. The rangers demorphed and got their first look at the ruined planet with their own eyes. "Hey how you holding up", Ashley asked the red ranger.

"Sadly it's what I expected", he sighed, "but seeing it with my own eyes somehow make it all seem real". He looked down at his morpher, the signal was coming from inside a house on the other side of the street, "It couldn't be", he began to walk closer to the property.

"Andros, what is it man", Carlos called out.

"This is my house", he stated and carried on walking. Kicking away some loose debris from the front path, he pushed the door open. The others followed him inside and were struck with a musty smell. The inside of the house was fairly simple and decorated in a neutral colour. It was also covered in a thick layer of dust and debris. It looked like Andros had evacuated the place quickly on that fateful day as the mouldy remains of his food were still on the table.

"Look at this", Cassie pointed out a few pictures on the wall of the front room, "someone's been here and wiped the dust off these pictures". The picture was of a young Andros and Karone with who they assume were their parents.

Just then they heard the floorboard above them creaking. Immediately freezing into place, they pulled out their Astro Blasters as they could hear footsteps moving towards the stairs. With each step the stairs creaked at the mystery person came closer. They reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the front room, "Hello rangers", Astronema stated with a quiet tone.

"What are you doing here Astronema", Andros bellowed, "haven't you caused enough damage to this planet".

"I-I had to see this place for myself", she replied but not with the same air of superiority they were familiar with.

"Admiring your handiwork?" Carlos snorted, keeping his blaster aimed at the Princess of Evil. Much to their surprise she dropped her head and couple of tear rolled down her cheek. She sniffed a couple more away and wiped her face.

"I'm not falling for anymore of your tricks Astronema", Andros began, "why did you come to my family home? Finding out some background knowledge on the most famous survivor of KO-35".

Astronema shook her head, "I had to know where I came from, that I still remembered".

Ashley and TJ picked up on the hidden meaning behind her words and began to lower their weapons, "Erm Andros", the blue ranger whispered.

But Andros didn't hear him, "Isn't bad enough that you've taken my parents away from me", he barked, "perhaps after killing me you can find my sister and complete the family set-"

"I am your sister", Astronema shrieked. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the room and the temperature had dropped by several degrees. All the rangers except Andros lowered their weapons, the red ranger kept his trained on the person claiming to be his sister.

Andros' face was contorted into a mask of rage and his arms were shaking. The others called out for him to lower the weapon but he didn't hear them. In desperation Carlos kicked the blaster out of Andros' hands but in the process, the weapon discharged. The shot was off target but it only missed Astronema by a few inches. TJ grabbed the red ranger by his jacket, pulling him away from Astronema. Andros responded by punching the blue ranger in the face, staggering the teen. Incensed, TJ grabbed Andros by the throat and slammed him into a nearby wall. Several books were knocked off a nearby shelf, "What the hell's your problem, you could've killed her", TJ shouted in his face.

"She's not my sister, she can't be", Andros struggled against his grip but TJ was too strong for him, "my sister wouldn't kill millions of people, my sister wouldn't kill her own parents".

"Then perhaps you should hear her side of the story before you put a laser round between her eyes", TJ added.

Astronema was complete unmoved by the situation in front of her, almost like she had excepted the probability of her death at the hands of the rangers, she wasn't even shedding any tears over the incident. "Andros man we're rangers", Carlos grabbed the blaster off the floor and checked the setting, it was set to kill, "we don't kill people who aren't posing us an imminent threat".

Andros kicked TJ in the legs, forcing the blue ranger to drop him. The red ranger looked at the stunned expressions in the room and the dead-looking eyes of Astronema, "This is impossible, it can't be true", with that he stormed out of the house.

Left alone with the other rangers, Astronema finally moved, "That went better than I expected", she muttered.

"You better not be lying about this", Ashley growled. Astronema grabbed her locket and handed it over to the yellow ranger. When Ashley opened it she saw the same picture that was on Andros' desk, "This is what freaked you out on my birthday wasn't it?"

Astronema nodded, "All these years I've thought I've been on a quest to avenge my family, it turns out I'm the one who killed them". Before the conversation could continue, they heard the sound of laser fire from outside. Running outside they saw Ecliptor, Darkonda and an army of Quantrons waiting for them.

Darkonda held Andros around the neck and gave them a vicious smile, "Greeting rangers", he began, "we've been searching for you everywhere Princess".

"Don't call me that Darkonda", Astronema shouted.

"We all know what you title is, after all that is why I chose you", he smiled.

"You", Andros struggled against Darkonda's grip, "it was you all along".

"Indeed red ranger in fact it was that very park over there", he pointed over to a large brown patch with several dying trees, "I plucked that girl from obscurity to be turned into some famous throughout the galaxy".

"You're a monster", Astronema spat.

"And so are you my dear", Darkonda smiled, "you humans are so easy to manipulate, especially at the tender age you were". Astronema summoned her staff but Darkonda forced his sword closer to Andros' throat, "I don't think so Princess, otherwise your brother really will be dead". Astronema sighed and dropped her staff to the ground, "Now come over here so you can be returned to your rightful place".

"Karone don't do it", Andros choked out but she kept walking towards Darkonda's side.

"Good, now as for you lot", but Darkonda didn't get a chance to continue as Astronema kicked him in the back, causing him to drop his sword and loosen his grip on Andros. The red ranger did the rest and kicked Darkonda in the stomach. Andros backed away and stood almost protectively in front of Astronema.

"Now isn't this cute", Darkonda chuckled and raised his sword, "I'll get to remove two thorns in my side in one got". Suddenly he was struck in the back with a sword that could only have come from one person. "Traitor!" he bellowed at Ecliptor, "Dark Specter will destroy you for this".

"That's a small price to pay", Ecliptor replied, "I am loyal to only one person and that's not Dark Specter". Darkonda roared and swung his blade at Ecliptor.

"I feel like I'm watching a soap opera", TJ muttered from the sidelines as Darkonda and Ecliptor duelled each other. The Quantrons began advancing on Astronema, intent on recapturing her, "I can't believe I'm about to do this", he pulled out his blaster and fired on the robots. He advanced on the creatures and stood in front of the Karovian pair as the other rangers did the same.

"Red ranger", Ecliptor called out before correcting himself, "Andros, take Astronema and go".

"I'm not leaving you Ecliptor", Astronema cried.

"I might care for you like you are my own but I'm not really your family", Ecliptor parried another blow, "you deserve to be with your brother". Astronema struggled against Andros' grip to reach Ecliptor by the combined efforts of the red ranger and Carlos kept her at bay. In a flash of light the six teleported away back to the Megaship, leaving Ecliptor and Darkonda fighting on the surface of KO-35.

_Astro Megaship_

The rangers had converted sick bay into a miniature brig to keep Astronema secure whilst they confirmed her identity. Darkonda and Ecliptor weren't known for their honesty so they needed further evidence. TJ and Carlos kept watch on their newest guest as Alpha completed a DNA test on the Princess of Evil.

"Do you have the results yet?" Andros asked as he approached the pair.

"Almost, probably in the next few seconds", TJ replied stiffly.

"I'm sorry for hitting you TJ", Andros apologised, "I don't know what came over me".

TJ nodded in acceptance, "Getting news like that after visiting the burned out remains of your home world will do funny things to a person's head". He pointed at his split lip, "You have a good punch for a skinny guy", he laughed.

"Thank you, both of you", he said to the blue and black rangers, "you saved my sisters life".

"We don't know she is your sister yet", Carlos replied.

"Actually we do now", Alpha added as he shuffled into view. He handed Andros a piece of paper, "I can safely say with an error margin of one percent that Astronema is your sister".

Andros nodded but stood frozen to the spot, "Andros what's wrong, this is the moment you've been waiting almost all your life for", TJ said.

"TJ I almost killed her a few hours ago", Andros replied, "what kind of first impression does that leave".

"Only one way to find out", Carlos grabbed the red ranger under the arms and carried him into sick bay. Dropping him at the foot of Karone's bed, the two rangers gave a cheesy salute and left the siblings alone.

"Interesting pair", Karone said, she hadn't changed out of her Astronema attire, "is this still necessary", she tugged her arm that was handcuffed to the bed.

"Safety first", Andros muttered but he opened the handcuffs. There was silence in the room for several minutes as the long lost siblings struggled to find the right words, "I can't believe you're here and I can't believe you were right under my nose the entire time", he paused for a moment, "I also can't believe I almost killed you today".

Karone sighed, "Emotions are a funny thing, I shouldn't have dropped that bombshell on you when you had a blaster pointed at my head. I'm not known for being the most trustworthy of people".

Andros wanted to disagree with her but sadly she was right, "But you've got a chance to change that now".

"Yeah cause people are going to welcome Astronema with open arms", Karone replied bitterly.

"But you're not that person anymore", Andros countered.

"Yes I am", Karone stated, "I've been Astronema for as long as I can remember, I don't know how to be anything else".

"That's why I'm here, I can help you through this".

"How can you forgive me so easily", Karone cried, "you've know all the things I've done, you saw them for yourself on our home planet, I did that". She sniffed as a few tears rolled down her face, "How can you forgive me after what I did to our parents?"

Andros didn't respond initially, instead he climbed onto the bed and hugged his sister for the first time in fifteen years, "You did that based on lied to and manipulated as a small child. I forgive you because you are my sister and I love you". Karone buried her head into Andros' shoulder, the twins didn't move for several hours. It was the first step on a long road to redemption for the Princess of Evil.

_**A/N - **Wow there was a lot of drama in that chapter. So Karone is now on the Megaship but how long will she stay there for?_


	19. Am I Evil?

_Chapter 19 – Am I Evil?_

_July 20 1998 – Astro Megaship_

It had been ten days since Karone had come aboard the Astro Megaship and unfortunately for the former Princess of Evil, they hadn't been easy. Apart from her brother, the other rangers were struggling to warm up to her. TJ and Carlos were trying but she could sense the tension whenever they engaged her in conversation. Ashley was a difficult person for her to read. She could see several conflicting emotions inside the yellow ranger. One part of her wanted to support Andros who, despite their protests, were clearly in some sort of relationship. The other part of Ashley was offering support to Cassie and that's where the problem lay for Karone.

The pink ranger had been one step below hostile to her since that first day. Karone could understand why, other than Andros she had lost the most during the war with Dark Specter and Karone was a convenient outlet for that anger. Over the last few days Karone had started eating away from the others and spending a great deal of time in her quarters. The only visitor she got was her brother, no one else came to see how see was doing.

Deciding to stretch her legs, she left her quarters and walked towards the lab. Inside the lab Andros, TJ, Carlos and Alpha were huddled around a table. Sitting on the metal structure was a small box with a bright red crystal in the middle. Judging by the looks on their faces, the experiment they were conducting wasn't going well. "Hey everyone", she greeting, "what are you working on?"

Immediately Karone felt everyone tense up at her presence, "Hey Karone, we're just working on an invisibility device", Andros replied. The device on the bench sparked, "As you can see it's not going well".

"Maybe I can help", she began, "I'm pretty handy with mechanical devices". It might have been her imagination but she was pretty sure someone muttered something like 'sure you are'.

"It's kinda technical", Carlos stated, "and it'll involve connecting it to our morphers, so", Carlos' voice trailed off but Karone got the hidden message, 'we don't trust you with our powers'.

Visibly deflating Karone sighed, "That's fine I'll leave you to it", she turned around and walked out of the lab. She heard Andros called after her but she ignored him and carried on down the corridors of the Megaship. She knew where she wasn't wanted.

After a few minutes she found herself at the galley and unfortunately for her, Ashley and Cassie were inside having breakfast. "Great just what I need", she muttered to herself but she couldn't avoid Cassie forever. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the galley with confidence, "Good morning everyone", she greeted with smile.

If looks could kill the one that Cassie shot Karone would've killed her immediately. Turning her back to the pair, Karone used the Synthatron to make herself something to eat and sat at the table, "So what's on the agenda today", she asked. There was no response from Cassie, despite Ashley giving her a clear nudge.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Ashley replied, "Well we need to watch the scanners for any signs of Zordon", there was a brief pause, "you could help us if you like".

Cassie kept her head down but there was a clear snort from the pink ranger, this was the last straw for Karone, "Look I get it, you don't like me but we're stuck together for the time being", she snapped. Cassie grabbed her tray and stood up, "You can't ignore me forever".

"Watch me", Cassie barked and slammed her tray into the recycling point and stormed off.

Karone ran her hands through her hand and groaned loudly, "Karone you have to understand, this isn't easy for Cassie", Ashley said slowly.

"This isn't easy for me either", she replied, "everything I've known has been based on a lie. I've been a puppet for the ultimate evil in the galaxy but at least I'm trying. That's more than I can say for any of you".

"Karone that's not fair", Ashley stated.

Karone grabbed her food and stood up, "Isn't it, I'll be in my quarters if anyone's interested". 'Fantastic' she thought,' another day in isolation. Perhaps prison would've been better'. Almost as she predicted, it was just Andros that came to visit her later that day but she wasn't in the mood for talking. With nothing else to do she retired to bed early that day.

The following morning Karone wasn't feeling too enthusiastic about facing the rangers but if there was one good think Ecliptor had taught her, it was not to cower in the face of adversity. Pulling on the grey boiler suit that Andros had given her and pulling her hair into a functional ponytail, she left to track the others down. After searching for several minutes, she concluded that they must be on the bridge. Making her way to Mega Deck 1, she heard their voices coming from the bridge, "DECA how long do we have until that meteor hits the planet", Andros asked the computer.

"Approximately two hours", DECA replied. Karone paused at the door, making sure to stay out of sight.

"Great so we've got two hours to stop a meteor and the only way to stop it is on the Dark Fortress", TJ stated.

"We'll be in range of the Fortress in 30 minutes", Andros replied, "maybe if we hit it hard enough it'll stop the tractor beam".

There was a brief pause before Carlos spoke up, "You know there is someone who could-"

"No, absolutely not", Andros snapped.

"Andros you know he's right", TJ began, "Karone has knowledge of their systems. She could have the tractor beam disabled in a matter of seconds".

"It'll be the first time she's been useful since arriving", Cassie sniped. Karone didn't get to hear the reply as the doors to the bridge slammed closed but she had heard enough. This was her chance to prove that she could be useful to the light side and put one over Dark Specter in the process. She needed to return to her quarter and prepare.

_Dark Fortress_

Once the Megaship was in range Karone teleported over in a flash of purple and sliver light. She wasn't sure why she kept her Astronema outfit and Wraith Staff around but she was glad that she did. The more intelligent members of the crew would know the truth about her defection but hopefully the grunts hadn't been told. That was confirmed when she waltz past several Quantrons and they didn't give her a second glance.

Arriving on the bridge she quickly found the tractor beam controls and switched it off. Since she had access to the systems, Karone decided to get some useful information about the death of Cassie's Mom. The pink ranger really couldn't hate her any more than she already did but perhaps if she could give her a reason that Reiko Chan had been killed then maybe it would provide some closure.

She was so engrossed in the systems that she didn't hear footsteps approaching her from behind until it was too late. Spinning around she came face to face with Ecliptor but he looked different than before. There were circuit boards connected to the side of his face and his eyes were a dull orange colour, "Oh Ecliptor what have they done to you", she sighed. Ecliptor suddenly lunged for her, "Ecliptor stop, it's me", she cried.

"Oh he knows who it is", Darkonda chuckled, "good to see you again Astronema".

"It's Karone actually", she spat.

"Not for much longer", Darkonda smiled, "orders of Dark Specter, you're coming back to his team whether you like it or not". Karone pointed her staff at Darkonda but to her frustration nothing happened, "Ooh bad luck Princess, the boss has just decided to cut you off from his magic"

Karone cursed her luck as several Quantrons advanced on her position. Deciding that she wasn't going down without a fight, she hit the robot nearest to her with a roundhouse kick. Ducking under a swing from another Quantron, she punched it in the stomach, making it drop its weapon. Picking up the blade, Karone cleaved the head off a Quantron and took off running down the corridor. Without her magic there was no way to escape the Fortress but perhaps if she barricaded herself in somewhere, it would give Andros a chance to find her.

That plan was looking ropey as she found her only escape path blocked by more Quantrons. Skidding to a halt she turned back but ran straight into Ecliptor's grasp. Her former protector pinned her arms to her side, "Ecliptor please don't do this", she pleaded but there was no response. Ecliptor dragged her into a lab with a reclined chair. Dropping her forcefully, several Quantrons tied her down securely.

Darkonda stalked into the room with a vicious smile, "Say goodbye to your memories Astronema". He began to punch some commands into the machine and Karone could feel the metal plates attached to her head warming up. 'Well this is it', she thought, 'I just hope Andros forgives me for what happens in the future'.

Suddenly Darkonda flew into the nearest console sending sparks flying out of the machine. The plates on Karone cooled as the machine had been deactivated. She looked up and another couple of Quantrons flew through the air but nothing appeared to be touching them. She felt her bonds loosen all by themselves, "Karone it's me", a voice said.

"Andros", she asked, "but I can't see you".

"The device worked", just then smoke appeared in mid air and Andros became visible again, "well sort of". Wrapped around his chest was the same black box with a red ruby inside that the boys had been working on yesterday.

"Red ranger", Darkonda boomed, "you're not having Astronema".

"I told you", Karone pulled Andros' Astro Blaster out of its holster. With a deadly accurate shot, she hit Darkonda right between the eyes. The bounty hunter collapsed to the ground, "I'm not Astronema, not any more".

Underneath his helmet Andros smiled but they were still in trouble. They still had Ecliptor and a fleet of Quantrons blocking their exit. Andros used his Spiral Saber to cut a path through the robots with Karone using the blaster to provide additional support, "Guys we'd like to be teleported", he called into his communicator. They reached a dead end and found more Quantrons bearing down on their location, "Anytime now", he added. In a flash of red the siblings disappeared back to the Megaship, leaving behind a very confused army of robots.

_Astro Megaship_

Half an hour later the rangers and Karone gathered in the galley. Karone had removed her red wig but she was still in her Astronema attire. "Well that's the end of the Phantom Ranger's ruby", Andros threw down the box, "Alpha confirmed that its totally fried".

"I'm sorry", Karone began, "if you hadn't come after me then you'd still have the ruby".

"Yes but we would have a bigger problem to worry about", TJ replied, "an Astronema reborn, so to speak".

Karone nodded at the blue ranger, "How did you know where I was?"

"Telepathy", Andros began, "you were broadcasting pretty loudly from the Dark Fortress". He paused for a moment before continuing, "I also picked up that you're not feeling happy about being here".

"Perhaps I'm expecting too much", Karone sighed, "I have spent the last few months trying to kill you. I very nearly succeeded at the Power Chamber if I recall".

"But still you have been trying and we haven't", Cassie began, "especially me. I've been a Class A bitch towards you since you've arrived and that nearly drove you back to Dark Specter".

"Cassie it's fine", Karone replied, "I was part of an Alliance that killed your mother".

"No it's not fine", Cassie stated, "everyone's been tense about your presence because they didn't want to upset me, it had nothing to do with you", everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Thank you Cassie", Karone smiled, "perhaps we could be friends", Cassie nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

"Now that's out the way, what are we going to do next"? Carlos asked.

"Well thanks to Karone the meteor didn't hit the planet", Andros began, "even if she made a stupid and reckless decision to travel to the Dark Fortress".

"Thanks, feeling the love brother", Karone replied. "I did get a chance to look on the Fortress' systems and I know where Zordon is, he currently on Polaris 7 under Dark Specter's personal guard".

"Are you sure about that", Ashley replied, "they could've planted that information as a trap".

"Well it's a lead and we could do with some of them", Andros replied, "the Polaris system is about a week away, I'll set a course". He stood up which indicated that the meeting was over.

As everyone was filing out Karone grabbed Cassie, "Hey can we talk about something", the pink ranger nodded and stayed behind in the galley. "I also found a report about your Mom's death whilst I was on the Dark Fortress. Dark Specter likes to keep a track of these things like the sick bastard he is". Cassie nodded hesitantly, "If you don't want to hear this you can forget I mentioned it".

"No, I want to hear", Cassie replied, "why did he go after my Mom?"

Karone took a deep breath, "He found out that she was connected with INET and tried to use her to get access to their systems. Fortunately he didn't understand the principle behind surnames so he didn't link the two of you together until after her death. The Reaper deviated from its instructions and tried to use the personal connection between you".

A wave of relief swept over Cassie, she thought that her Mom had been killed because she was a ranger. It wasn't much comfort but it was something, "Did she put up a fight?"

Karone nodded, "Fought to the last".

Cassie laughed as a tear ran down her face, "That's my Mom". She grabbed Karone and hugged the blonde tightly, "Thank you", she whispered in her ear.

Karone didn't know what to do initially but she eventually returned the hug, if a little awkwardly. After the trials of the last few weeks she finally felt that she belonged on the Megaship with the rangers. Hopefully her knowledge of the Alliance would prove helpful for the rangers in the ongoing war.

_**A/N – **__Well that was a little bit of a curveball and now we're really moving away from canon. A few people have asked about Zhane, yes he will be making an appearance and in 2 chapter's time actually. We're about half way through this story now so not too much more to go..._


End file.
